The Veteran's appeal of service connection for obstructive sleep apnea is dismissed. The petition to reopen a claim of service connection for vision loss is granted, but the issue remains remanded due to lack of nexus opinion. The issue of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder is also remanded.
The deciding factor: The Veteran withdrew his appeal of service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and the claims for vision loss and an acquired psychiatric disorder remain pending as they require additional development, including obtaining a nexus opinion.
- Claimed conditions
- obstructive sleep apnea, vision loss (including cataracts, aphakia, and glaucoma), an acquired psychiatric disorder (depressive disorder)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 6, 2021
- Citation
- 21072799
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 21072799.
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A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot.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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeals for service connection for bilateral pes planus, obstructive sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for migraine headaches with an initial rating of 50 percent effective from August 10, 2022, and denied the claims for service connection for a right knee disability, obstructive sleep apnea, kidney disability, low back disability, and erectile dysfunction.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, effective from the date of the February 2025 rating decision.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issue of entitlement to service connection for obstructive sleep apnea due to a duty to assist error.
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