The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding whether the Veteran's sleep disorder, including sleep apnea, was aggravated by his service in Iraq. The examiner is asked to consider the Veteran's lay statements and any potential aggravation of his sleep disorder by PTSD medications.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there was not clear and unmistakable evidence both that the Veteran had a pre-existing sleep disorder prior to service and that it was not aggravated during service, necessitating further examination and opinion.
- Claimed conditions
- sleep apnea
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 2, 2020
- Citation
- 20000233
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including prostate cancer and related disabilities, urinary incontinence, sleep apnea, hypertension, varicose veins, lumbar spine disability, hip arthritis, shoulder arthritis, ankle arthritis, knee strain, knee replacement, and hand arthritis. The only condition granted was a 10 percent rating for a fracture of the right proximal first metacarpal.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for sleep apnea as there is no evidence of an in-service injury or disease, and no competent evidence linking the condition to service.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for asthma and remanded claims for insomnia and sleep apnea. Other conditions were denied.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including sinusitis, elbows condition, cervical condition, erectile dysfunction, kidney condition, sleep apnea, wrists condition, asthma, shoulders condition, ankles condition, eye condition (bilateral dry macular degeneration), peripheral vascular disease (heart condition), and rhinitis.
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