The Veteran's sleep disorder and lumbar strain have been denied. The Veteran was granted a 40% rating for his lumbar strain from August 10, 2016 onwards.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found no causal link between the Veteran’s back disability and his insomnia or OSA.
- Claimed conditions
- {"condition_name":"Obstructive Sleep Apnea","secondary_to":"Service-connected lumbar spine disability"}, {"condition_name":"Insomnia","secondary_to":"Service-connected lumbar spine disability"}
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- November 7, 2019
- Citation
- 19184623
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for right lower extremity sciatica associated with the Veteran's service-connected lumbosacral spine strain, but remanded claims for service connection for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and sleep apnea.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his lung cancer was related to his service-connected melanoma.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for anxiety but denied it for sleep apnea, finding that the Veteran's sleep apnea was less likely than not related to his active service or service-connected acquired psychiatric condition.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for migraine headaches as proximately due to the Veteran's service-connected tinnitus.
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