The Veteran's claim for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea was denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a finding of in-service onset or association with military service.,For radiculopathy, an increased rating to 40% was granted effective December 30, 2016, but no earlier.
The deciding factor: The July 2019 VA examination did not find a link between the Veteran's sleep apnea and his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- Obstructive sleep apnea, Radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- December 26, 2019
- Citation
- 19196225
Veterans Law Judge
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 19196225.
What this means for you
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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 remanded the claims for service connection due to a duty to assist error, specifically regarding whether the Veteran's current conditions are aggravated by his service-connected DDD of the lumbosacral spine. The AOJ is required to obtain new medical opinions addressing this issue.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for initial compensable ratings for obstructive sleep apnea and headaches, finding that the evidence does not support a finding of persistent daytime hypersomnolence or other manifestations consistent with a compensable disability rating under the criteria established by Diagnostic Codes. The matter is remanded to obtain additional information from the Veteran regarding his headaches and their impact on his daily life.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection of obstructive sleep apnea as secondary to his service-connected residuals of left foot 5th metatarsal fracture.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for service connection of obstructive sleep apnea has been granted, with the effective date set at June 25, 2019.
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