The Veteran's service connection claims for fatigue, muscle pain, and left upper extremity, right upper extremity, left lower extremity, and right lower extremity conditions are granted on a presumptive basis under 38 U.S.C. § 1117 due to his service in the Southwest Asia theater of operations. His claim for sleep apnea is also granted.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's symptoms were found to be consistent with an undiagnosed illness or MUCMI, and he was diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea shortly after service.
- Claimed conditions
- fatigue, muscle pain, left upper extremity, right upper extremity, left lower extremity, right lower extremity
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 17, 2019
- Citation
- 19194080
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,948 · 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 19194080.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the AOJ did not obtain all necessary opinions regarding whether the Veteran's symptoms are related to an undiagnosed illness or medically unexplained chronic multisymptom illness (MUCMI). The claims for service connection for fatigue, fibromyalgia, left elbow disorder, right elbow disorder, and sleep disorder are remanded for further development.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for migraine headaches, as secondary to tinnitus, is granted. The claims for service connection for hearing loss disability and a disability manifested by shortness of breath other than chronic sinusitis and allergic rhinitis are denied. The claims for service connection for an intestinal disability (diverticulitis), fatigue, hypertension, neck disability, right upper extremity radiculopathy, left upper extremity radiculopathy, right shoulder disability, left shoulder disability, upper and lower back disability, right lower extremity radiculopathy, left lower extremity radiculopathy, right hip disability, left hip disability, right foot pain, left foot pain, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and an acquired psychiatric disorder are all denied.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including left leg shin splints, right leg shin splints, joint pain (claimed as arthritis), sleep apnea, fatigue, neck condition, acne, and lung condition. The evidence did not show a current disability or link to military service.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeals for the issues of increased initial evaluations for erectile dysfunction, irritable bowel syndrome, service connection for left lower extremity, service connection for right lower extremity, and service connection for bilateral hearing loss.
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