The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea as secondary to the service-connected posttraumatic stress disorder and residuals of a right ankle sprain, while denying an increased rating for the right knee disability. A separate 10 percent rating was also granted for right knee instability.
The deciding factor: Service connection for OSA was granted based on aggravation by symptoms associated with the service-connected psychiatric disability; service connection for the right ankle was granted due to evidence in equipoise supporting an in-service onset and incurrence of the disability, despite a lack of contemporaneous medical evidence. The increased rating claim for the right knee was denied as the current 10 percent rating adequately compensates the Veteran.
- Claimed conditions
- Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), Residuals of a Right Ankle Sprain, Right Knee Disability
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 6, 2021
- Citation
- 21062223
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, left knee disability, and right knee disability. The claims for urinary frequency disability and residuals of a cholecystectomy were denied.
- Partly granted
The Board denied an initial increased rating for diabetes mellitus type II and remanded the claims for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, right shoulder strain with acromioclavicular joint osteoarthritis and tendinitis, cervical spine spondylosis, left knee degenerative arthritis, right knee degenerative arthritis, and thoracolumbar scoliosis and lumbar spine degenerative changes.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection of obstructive sleep apnea as it requires further development and evidence.
- Partly granted
The Board granted increased ratings for the Veteran's left and right knee disabilities, including separate ratings for instability and meniscal conditions, but denied higher ratings for flexion limitations in both knees. The Board also granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities prior to December 1, 2021.
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