The Board has granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), but denied service connection for bilateral knee conditions and left ankle condition.
The deciding factor: The March 2019 VA examiner provided a negative nexus opinion regarding the Veteran's OSA, attributing it to lack of documented diagnosis during service. The examiner also noted that the Veteran reported sleeping difficulties in his separation examination which was deemed too nonspecific for an OSA diagnosis.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral knee condition, left ankle condition, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 0%
- Decision date
- January 3, 2020
- Citation
- 20000432
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 112 · Granted: 20% (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 20000432.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's OSA is granted as service connected. The Veteran's infectious disease claim and stomach disability claim are remanded for further examination.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for increased disability ratings for his left knee patellofemoral pain syndrome and left ankle condition have been dismissed due to the withdrawal of the appeal by the Veteran's representative.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to errors in obtaining relevant medical records and authorization for private treatment providers. The issues include heart disorder, OSA, sinusitis, lumbar spine disorder, and right knee disorder all related to Agent Orange exposure.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with persistent depressive disorder and insomnia.
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