The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for sleep apnea, migraines, and an acquired psychiatric disability due to Gulf War exposure. The VA is required to provide a new opinion addressing whether these conditions are related to service.
The deciding factor: The previous VA examination did not fully address whether the Veteran’s disabilities could be considered as a medically unexplained chronic multi-symptom illness or if they were directly related to his Gulf War exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- sleep apnea, migraines, anxiety
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 13, 2020
- Citation
- 20002775
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder to ensure a proper examination and etiology opinion are provided.
- 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.
- Partly granted
The Veteran was granted a 70 percent initial disability rating for PTSD effective December 2, 2021, but the claim for an increased rating in excess of 70 percent was denied. The appeal also included claims for service connection and ratings for various conditions, some of which were granted while others were remanded.
- 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.
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