The Board has granted service connection for OSA as aggravated by the Veteran's service-connected insomnia disorder, major depressive disorder, and anxious distress (acquired psychiatric disorders). The claims for neck disability, back disability, and headaches have been denied.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not support a finding that the current neck or back disabilities or headaches are related to an in-service injury, including the 1992 injury for which his left eye disability was service-connected. Obesity is considered as an intermediate step when caused by a service-connected disability and can be used as a direct step when shown to be caused by service.
- Claimed conditions
- Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), Neck disability, Back disability, Headaches
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 2, 2023
- Citation
- A23030613
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 A23030613.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
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 of a back disability, finding that there was no evidence to support a nexus between his current condition and active duty service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of entitlement to service connection for vertigo and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error. The Veteran's hearing loss is not rated higher than 10 percent.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the claims for service connection for OSA and insomnia must be remanded due to inadequate VA examinations and opinions, as well as a failure to obtain TERA opinions on all relevant exposures.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for an initial rating in excess of 50 percent for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and a separate rating for chronic pulmonary embolism due to inadequate VA examinations.
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