The Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 50 percent for PTSD and depression was denied. The Board found that the Veteran’s symptoms did not meet the criteria for a higher disability rating, resulting in a denial. The OSA and hypertension claims were remanded due to inadequate development.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner's opinion on the OSA claim did not address the literature submitted by the Veteran regarding the relationship between PTSD and sleep apnea as per the Board’s previous directive. Additionally, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine updated the Agent Orange report, changing the classification for hypertension from limited or suggestive to sufficient evidence of an association.
- Claimed conditions
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Depression, Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), Hypertension
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 23, 2020
- Citation
- 20005113
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,329 · Granted: 31% (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 20005113.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD is granted as the evidence shows a current diagnosis of PTSD, an in-service stressor, and a medical link between the two.
- Denied
The Veteran's PTSD has been rated at 50% since March 23, 2004. The Board found that a higher rating is not warranted prior to February 15, 2005 due to the severity of his symptoms and their impact on his social and occupational functioning.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD and any acquired psychiatric disorder, finding that there was no evidence to support a link between his current mental health conditions and his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's PTSD resulted in occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity, warranting a 70% disability rating. The Veteran also met the criteria for a TDIU due to his service-connected disabilities preventing him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation.
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