The Veteran's service connection claim for chronic sleep apnea is granted, while the claim for Bell's palsy is remanded due to inadequate examination.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the evidence was in equipoise as to whether the Veteran’s chronic sleep apnea and Bell's palsy are related to his military service. The decision on Bell's palsy is pending as a new VA examination is needed.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic sleep apnea, Bell's palsy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 22, 2019
- Citation
- 19188458
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,341 · Granted: 33% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 19188458.
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's right hip pain, muscle spasms, Bell's palsy, trouble breathing, and shaving profile/skin condition are all granted service connection. However, the claims for muscle spasms, Bell's palsy, trouble breathing, and shaving profile/skin condition were denied as there is no current diagnosis of these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claim for service connection of a cervical spine disability, as it is unclear whether his condition is due to his service-connected Bell's palsy and/or right eyelid scar. The VA must obtain an addendum opinion addressing these issues.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied service connection for Bell's palsy and remanded the low back, radiculopathy, elbow, knee, and pes planus claims due to incomplete records.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for Bell's palsy, right eye disability, lumbar spine disability, left knee disability, and right knee disability due to a failure to address if VA satisfied its duty to assist by obtaining private treatment records from Dr. O's office.
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