The appeal of the denial of TBI service connection is dismissed due to lack of an adequate substantive appeal. The claim for secondary service connection for OSA, thyroid nodules, and skin cancer is partially granted.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's sleep apnea was found to be at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected PTSD and Parkinson’s disease.
- Claimed conditions
- Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), Thyroid Nodules, Skin Cancer
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 20, 2020
- Citation
- 20013288
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 20013288.
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of entitlement to service connection for vertigo and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error. The Veteran's hearing loss is not rated higher than 10 percent.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the claims for service connection for OSA and insomnia must be remanded due to inadequate VA examinations and opinions, as well as a failure to obtain TERA opinions on all relevant exposures.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for an initial rating in excess of 50 percent for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and a separate rating for chronic pulmonary embolism due to inadequate VA examinations.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and its residuals, including unsteady gait, somnolence, and cognitive dysfunction. The decision is based on the Veteran's credible lay statements about in-service head injuries and subsequent seizures.
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