The Board has remanded the issue of service connection for obstructive sleep apnea due to a new theory of entitlement raised by the Veteran, contending that his sleep apnea is proximately due to obesity caused by his service-connected disabilities. The VA failed to receive any examinations or opinions regarding the relationship between these conditions and the Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea and failed to determine whether any of these conditions led to the Veteran's obesity which caused or aggravated his sleep apnea.
The deciding factor: The Board cannot make a fully informed decision on this issue because no VA examiner has opined whether the Veteran's obesity is an 'intermediate step' between the service-connected disabilities and sleep apnea, nor whether any of these conditions led to the Veteran's obesity which caused or aggravated his sleep apnea.
- Claimed conditions
- obstructive sleep apnea, degenerative arthritis of the right knee, degenerative arthritis of the spine, lumbosacral strain, intervertebral disc syndrome (IVDS), spinal stenosis, degenerative disc disease, rhabdomyolysis, radiculopathy of the right and left lower extremities, right ear hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 24, 2022
- Citation
- 22017279
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 22017279.
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 obstructive sleep apnea, finding that there is no competent evidence to support a finding that his current condition began in or as a result of service.
- Denied
The Board of Veterans' Appeals (BVA) has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea as there is no current diagnosis of this condition during the appeal period.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an initial compensable disability rating for onychomycosis was denied as the condition did not require treatment and covered less than 5% of his body. The Board also remanded issues regarding service connection for left ear hearing loss and entitlement to a compensable disability rating for right ear hearing loss.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper extremities, and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral lower extremities, finding that there was no evidence linking these conditions to his active service or any related exposure.
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