The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for secondary service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, finding that it is caused by his obesity which in turn was caused by his service-connected degenerative disc disease.
The deciding factor: The September 2019 VA examiner provided an opinion stating that the Veteran’s obstructive sleep apnea is at least as likely as not (50 percent or greater probability) proximately due to or the result of his service connected condition, specifically his obesity which was caused by his service-connected degenerative disc disease.
- Claimed conditions
- Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Obesity
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 27, 2019
- Citation
- 19189924
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 19189924.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various disabilities and denied higher ratings for several service-connected conditions.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected psychiatric disorders, lumbar and cervical spine disabilities, bilateral radiculopathy of the upper extremities, and bilateral radiculopathy and neuropathy of the lower extremities.
- Denied
The Board denied a rating in excess of 50 percent for PTSD, finding that the Veteran's symptoms more closely approximated those associated with a 50 percent rating.
- Partly granted
The appeal for entitlement to service connection for obstructive sleep apnea was granted, while other appeals were dismissed as untimely and remanded for further action on essential tremors.
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