The Veteran's service connection for obstructive sleep apnea as secondary to his service-connected major depressive disorder is being remanded due to insufficient opinions regarding the aggravation aspect of secondary service connection.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not provide an opinion on whether the Veteran’s sleep apnea was aggravated by his major depressive disorder, which is required for a determination in this case.
- Claimed conditions
- obstructive sleep apnea, major depressive disorder
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 22, 2020
- Citation
- A20015919
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 Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, effective from the date of the February 2025 rating decision.
- Dismissed
The claim for an earlier effective date for service connection for major depressive disorder is dismissed as moot because the earliest effective date was granted during the pendency of this appeal.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeals for service connection for bilateral pes planus, obstructive sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issue of entitlement to service connection for obstructive sleep apnea due to a duty to assist error.
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