The Board has remanded the claims for asthma and sleep disorder to include OSA due to exposure to burn pits in service. The Veteran's lay testimony of continuous symptoms since deployment is not addressed by the November 2016 VA examination.
The deciding factor: The November 2016 VA examiner did not adequately address the continuity of symptoms from service and the etiology of the respiratory and sleep disabilities, which are medical questions.
- Claimed conditions
- Asthma, Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 9, 2019
- Citation
- 19192283
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 19192283.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
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 obstructive sleep apnea, left knee disability, and right knee disability. The claims for urinary frequency disability and residuals of a cholecystectomy were denied.
- Partly granted
The Board denied an initial increased rating for diabetes mellitus type II and remanded the claims for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, right shoulder strain with acromioclavicular joint osteoarthritis and tendinitis, cervical spine spondylosis, left knee degenerative arthritis, right knee degenerative arthritis, and thoracolumbar scoliosis and lumbar spine degenerative changes.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for asbestosis, bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), rhinitis, sinusitis, and asthma. The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was also denied a compensable rating.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various disabilities and denied higher ratings for several service-connected conditions.
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