The Veteran's claim for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has been denied as it is not secondary to a service-connected condition or caused by an in-service injury.,The Veteran's claim for TDIU prior to April 9, 2022, has also been denied due to the presence of other service-connected disabilities that allow him to engage in substantially gainful employment.
The deciding factor: The VA medical opinions found no causal relationship between the Veteran's OSA and his service-connected conditions or TERA exposure. The weight of evidence did not support a finding that the Veteran's OSA was etiologically related to service, his service-connected coronary artery disease, PTSD, obesity caused by a service-connected disability, or TERA.,The Veteran has multiple service-connected disabilities (bilateral pes planus, coronary artery disease, PTSD) and non-service-connected conditions (OSA), which allow him to engage in substantially gainful employment. The evidence does not show that his OSA prevented him from securing or following any substantially gainful occupation prior to April 9, 2022.
- Claimed conditions
- obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), coronary artery disease, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), bilateral pes planus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 17, 2024
- Citation
- 24002459
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,062 · Granted: 34% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 24002459.
What this means for you
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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 an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorders, including bipolar disorder and PTSD. The Veteran will be asked to provide additional medical records and undergo a VA examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and major depressive disorder, is being remanded due to the need for additional development regarding his alleged stressors.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development regarding the Veteran's service connection claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD.
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