The Board has decided to remand the case due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding whether the Veteran's sleep apnea was aggravated by his service-connected asthma and/or major depressive disorder.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner noted that without an additional sleep study, aggravation based on asthma cannot be established. The Veteran’s psychiatric disability may also have a relationship to his sleep apnea, so an opinion should be obtained on remand.
- Claimed conditions
- sleep apnea, asthma
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 18, 2020
- Citation
- 20080086
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including prostate cancer and related disabilities, urinary incontinence, sleep apnea, hypertension, varicose veins, lumbar spine disability, hip arthritis, shoulder arthritis, ankle arthritis, knee strain, knee replacement, and hand arthritis. The only condition granted was a 10 percent rating for a fracture of the right proximal first metacarpal.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for sleep apnea as there is no evidence of an in-service injury or disease, and no competent evidence linking the condition to service.
- Granted
The Veteran was granted a 70 percent disability rating for unspecified trauma and stressor-related disorder with major depressive disorder, recurrent, and alcohol use disorder in early remission, as well as TDIU due to asthma and SMC at the housebound rate.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for asthma and remanded claims for insomnia and sleep apnea. Other conditions were denied.
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.