The Board granted service connection for a back disability, left knee disability, and sleep apnea, as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected acquired psychiatric disability. The effective date for these grants is December 19, 2016.
The deciding factor: The evidence was found to be in equipoise regarding the etiology of the Veteran's back and left knee disabilities, and his sleep apnea was determined to be secondary to his service-connected PTSD based on a private medical opinion.
- Claimed conditions
- back disability, left knee disability, sleep apnea
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 70%
- Decision date
- January 10, 2023
- Citation
- 23001537
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issue of entitlement to service connection for a back disability due to a duty to assist error, specifically regarding VA's failure to provide the Veteran with a VA examination prior to the rating decision.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including prostate cancer and related disabilities, urinary incontinence, sleep apnea, hypertension, varicose veins, lumbar spine disability, hip arthritis, shoulder arthritis, ankle arthritis, knee strain, knee replacement, and hand arthritis. The only condition granted was a 10 percent rating for a fracture of the right proximal first metacarpal.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for sleep apnea as there is no evidence of an in-service injury or disease, and no competent evidence linking the condition to service.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for asthma and remanded claims for insomnia and sleep apnea. Other conditions were denied.
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