The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) as secondary to posttraumatic stress disorder with major depressive disorder and migraine headaches, effective January 18, 2024. The Board also granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to the veteran's service-connected disabilities.
The deciding factor: The decision was based on a positive private medical opinion that linked OSA to the veteran's service-connected PTSD with MDD and migraine headaches, including as caused by medications for these conditions. The Board found this evidence persuasive in granting service connection for OSA and TDIU.
- Claimed conditions
- Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), Right Shoulder Degenerative Arthritis, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder with Major Depressive Disorder (PTSD with MDD)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- January 18, 2024
- Citation
- 24002689
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, left knee disability, and right knee disability. The claims for urinary frequency disability and residuals of a cholecystectomy were denied.
- Partly granted
The Board denied an initial increased rating for diabetes mellitus type II and remanded the claims for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, right shoulder strain with acromioclavicular joint osteoarthritis and tendinitis, cervical spine spondylosis, left knee degenerative arthritis, right knee degenerative arthritis, and thoracolumbar scoliosis and lumbar spine degenerative changes.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection of obstructive sleep apnea as it requires further development and evidence.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), to include as secondary to GERD, for further development and a new VA medical opinion.
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