The Board remands the claims for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, peripheral neuropathy of the upper and lower extremities due to herbicide exposure as the previous VA examinations did not provide a clear opinion regarding their etiology or aggravation by service-connected disabilities.
The deciding factor: The November 2023 VA examination reports do not provide sufficient rationale for determining whether the Veteran's conditions are related to his service, including any aggravation due to service-connected disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Peripheral Neuropathy of the Upper Extremities, to include as a result of exposure to herbicide agents, Peripheral Neuropathy of the Lower Extremities, to include as a result of exposure to herbicide agents
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 25, 2024
- Citation
- 24003967
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 service connection for various disabilities and denied higher ratings for several service-connected conditions.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected psychiatric disorders, lumbar and cervical spine disabilities, bilateral radiculopathy of the upper extremities, and bilateral radiculopathy and neuropathy of the lower extremities.
- Denied
The Board denied a rating in excess of 50 percent for PTSD, finding that the Veteran's symptoms more closely approximated those associated with a 50 percent rating.
- Partly granted
The appeal for entitlement to service connection for obstructive sleep apnea was granted, while other appeals were dismissed as untimely and remanded for further action on essential tremors.
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