The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings for radiculopathy of the right and left lower extremities are dismissed. Service connection for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is granted.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there was evidence weighing both for and against the claim, placing it at least in equipoise on whether OSA was incurred in service, and therefore granting service connection on a direct basis.
- Claimed conditions
- OSA, radiculopathy of right lower extremity (RLE), radiculopathy of left lower extremity (LLE)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 29, 2022
- Citation
- 22037577
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 22037577.
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A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot.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.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for an initial rating of 50 percent for OSA with coughing, effective from November 7, 2023, is granted. The appeal regarding a higher rating and the effective date for service connection are both denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that there were duty to assist errors in the previous rating decisions and remands the cases for further development.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for earlier effective date and increased ratings for OSA with sinusitis was denied. The appeal period began on April 29, 2014, when the Veteran filed a new claim for service connection for OSA. Service connection was granted in June 2023, but an earlier effective date is not warranted.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for TDIU, right shoulder disability rating, PTSD disability rating, and OSA disability rating. The appeal of the OSA rating was dismissed due to withdrawal by the Veteran.
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