The Board has determined that the July 2023 VA examination was inadequate and remanded for further development. The Veteran's OSA is to be evaluated, along with whether his service-connected back disability caused or aggravated his obesity, which in turn may have contributed to his OSA.
The deciding factor: The July 2023 VA examiner did not conduct a new examination as required and provided vague and repetitive opinions without addressing each individual question.
- Claimed conditions
- sleep apnea (OSA), obesity
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 25, 2024
- Citation
- 24017716
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 24017716.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The DIC claim is denied because the Veteran was not rated totally disabled for a continuous period of at least 10 years immediately preceding his death. The service connection issue is remanded due to duty to assist error.
- Granted
The Veteran's diabetes mellitus, type II, is granted on a secondary basis with obesity serving as an intermediate step due to service-connected low back disability, sciatica, and right shoulder disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the cases due to issues with the effective date for service connection and will consider new evidence submitted by the Veteran.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for obesity and obstructive sleep apnea as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected back, left hip, left knee and left lower extremity radiculopathy disabilities.
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