The Veteran's initial depressive disorder rating was denied, and a higher rating of 70% for the period from January 30, 2012 to present is granted.,Service connection for sleep apnea, atrial fibrillation, and hypertension are remanded due to conflicting accounts and incomplete medical opinions.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's depressive disorder was rated based on the severity of symptoms during a specific period. The current rating reflects reduced reliability and productivity.,Service connection for sleep apnea, atrial fibrillation, and hypertension are remanded because there is conflicting evidence regarding whether service-connected disabilities caused obesity, which may be an intermediate step to establish secondary service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- Unspecified depressive disorder, Sleep apnea, Atrial fibrillation with a history of congestive heart failure, Hypertension
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 14, 2020
- Citation
- 20002864
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for chronic headaches, CFS, dermatosis, bilateral RLS, a lumbar spine disability, and sleep apnea but denied a compensable evaluation for allergic rhinitis.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus type II and hypertension, to include as secondary to left orchiectomy, for further development in accordance with the PACT Act.
- Partly granted
The Board granted readjudication of previously denied claims for service connection for PTSD and COPD, while remanding other issues including entitlement to service connection for an eye disorder, hypertension, tinnitus, a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, TDIU, and an initial rating for PTSD.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various disabilities and denied higher ratings for several service-connected conditions.
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