The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for sleep apnea, narcolepsy, and Chiari malformation due to inadequate VA medical opinions. The claims are being returned for further development.
The deciding factor: The VA medical opinions obtained in September 2020 were not consistent with applicable law regarding obesity as a result of service-connected disabilities and the need for an adequate opinion addressing whether the Veteran's Chiari malformation was aggravated by active service or a service-connected disability, to include migraine headaches.
- Claimed conditions
- sleep apnea, narcolepsy, Chiari malformation
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 27, 2021
- Citation
- 21004557
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 21004557.
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 the Veteran's claim for service connection for sleep apnea, finding that there was no evidence of a chronic disease manifesting within one year after service and concluding that the current disability is not related to his in-service deviated septum.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development regarding the Veteran's claim of service connection for sleep apnea. The Veteran will be provided with a VA examination to determine if his current sleep disorder is related to his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the issue of service connection for sleep apnea due to insufficient medical opinions and need for further development.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeal regarding the claims for sleep apnea and an increased disability rating for diabetes mellitus, type II.
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