The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for a skin condition and sleep apnea due to inadequate medical opinions. The remand requires additional opinions regarding the etiology of these conditions, specifically addressing toxic exposure risk activities (TERAs) including burn pits, Camp Lejeune contaminated water, and other toxins. Additionally, it requests an opinion on whether the Veteran's service-connected chronic cough may aggravate his sleep apnea.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the medical opinions provided were inadequate due to inaccuracies in their rationale and failure to consider all relevant factors, including toxic exposure risk activities and secondary service connection for aggravation of a pre-existing condition.
- Claimed conditions
- skin condition, sleep apnea
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 17, 2024
- Citation
- 24002498
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,772 · Granted: 37% (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 24002498.
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 sleep apnea, finding that there was no evidence of a chronic disease manifesting within one year after service and concluding that the current disability is not related to his in-service deviated septum.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development regarding the Veteran's claim of service connection for sleep apnea. The Veteran will be provided with a VA examination to determine if his current sleep disorder is related to his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the issue of service connection for sleep apnea due to insufficient medical opinions and need for further development.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeal regarding the claims for sleep apnea and an increased disability rating for diabetes mellitus, type II.
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