The Veteran's sleep apnea is granted as secondary to her service-connected back, knee, and foot disabilities. The rating for plantar fasciitis and pes planus is remanded due to overlap in symptoms. The TDIU claim is also remanded.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran’s sleep apnea was caused or aggravated by her service-connected back, knee, and foot disabilities, granting service connection for OSA. However, there are overlapping symptoms between plantar fasciitis and pes planus which need to be evaluated separately in order to determine appropriate ratings.
- Claimed conditions
- Obstructive sleep apnea, Plantar fasciitis, Pes planus
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 25, 2020
- Citation
- 20021278
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 20021278.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
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 for service connection due to a duty to assist error, specifically regarding whether the Veteran's current conditions are aggravated by his service-connected DDD of the lumbosacral spine. The AOJ is required to obtain new medical opinions addressing this issue.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for initial compensable ratings for obstructive sleep apnea and headaches, finding that the evidence does not support a finding of persistent daytime hypersomnolence or other manifestations consistent with a compensable disability rating under the criteria established by Diagnostic Codes. The matter is remanded to obtain additional information from the Veteran regarding his headaches and their impact on his daily life.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection of obstructive sleep apnea as secondary to his service-connected residuals of left foot 5th metatarsal fracture.
- Denied
The Board denied the appellant's claim for an increased rating for pes planus of the left foot as he failed to report for a necessary VA examination without good cause.
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