The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings and earlier effective dates were dismissed.,Service connection for obstructive sleep apnea was granted as secondary to service-connected PTSD.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the evidence demonstrated that the Veteran’s OSA was at least as likely as not proximately due to or aggravated by his service-connected PTSD, and thus granted service connection on a secondary basis.
- Claimed conditions
- Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Bilateral Hearing Loss, Insomnia (now claimed as sleep condition), Degenerative Joint Disease of the Right Hip, Degenerative Joint Disease of the Left Hip, Degenerative Joint Disease of the Right Knee, Left Knee Disability, Spinal Stenosis, Neck Condition, Cataracts, secondary to Diabetes Mellitus Type II, Diabetes Mellitus, Prostate Cancer, Unspecific Idiopathic Peripheral Neuropathy of the Right Upper Extremity, Unspecific Idiopathic Peripheral Neuropathy of the Right Lower Extremity, Unspecific Idiopathic Peripheral Neuropathy of the Left Lower Extremity, Erectile Dysfunction, Scar of the Lower Abdomen
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 9, 2020
- Citation
- 20072093
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,990 · Granted: 35% (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 20072093.
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A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot.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.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected knee disabilities are rated at 10% each, and the Board finds that higher ratings are not warranted based on the evidence of record.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral knee disabilities are not related to his active service, and thus denied both claims for service connection.
- Granted
The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is granted as service-connected. The claims for alcohol abuse and psychiatric disorder are remanded for additional development, including a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of these conditions.
- Denied
The Veteran's left knee disability is currently rated at 30 percent, and the Board finds no evidence of clear and unmistakable error in assigning an effective date of June 19, 2002.
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