The Veteran's respiratory symptoms, including shortness of breath/dyspnea, are due to an undiagnosed illness. The Veteran's sleep apnea is not related to his service and the evidence does not support a finding that it was caused by exposure to environmental hazards. Service connection for diverticulitis is remanded for further examination.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found no evidence of a known clinical diagnosis for the Veteran’s respiratory symptoms, thus granting service connection based on an undiagnosed illness. The sleep apnea claim was denied as it did not meet the criteria for presumptive service connection due to exposure in the Gulf War. Service connection for diverticulitis is remanded as there are conflicting opinions regarding its onset and relationship to medications.
- Claimed conditions
- respiratory disability, sleep apnea, diverticulitis
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 12, 2019
- Citation
- 19193030
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,421 · Granted: 29% (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 19193030.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board has not made a final determination on the claims of service connection for inguinal hernia, PTSD, joint pain, fibromyalgia, left knee disability, right knee disability, tinnitus, chronic fatigue syndrome, respiratory disability, sleep disorder, IBS, and headaches. The claims are remanded to obtain additional evidence and determine if these conditions are related to service.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for sleep apnea, finding that there was no evidence of a chronic disease manifesting within one year after service and concluding that the current disability is not related to his in-service deviated septum.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development regarding the Veteran's claim of service connection for sleep apnea. The Veteran will be provided with a VA examination to determine if his current sleep disorder is related to his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the issue of service connection for sleep apnea due to insufficient medical opinions and need for further development.
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