The Veteran's depression is granted as secondary to his service-connected obstructive sleep apnea. The Veteran's TDIU claim is denied due to his gainful employment during the period on appeal.
The deciding factor: Service connection for depression was established as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected obstructive sleep apnea, with the May 2021 VA examiner finding that the Veteran's depression was more likely than not caused by his OSA. The TDIU claim was denied because the Veteran had at least one disability rated at 40 percent or more and sufficient additional disability to bring the combined rating to 70 percent, but he was gainfully employed during the period on appeal.
- Claimed conditions
- depression, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 50%
- Decision date
- August 21, 2024
- Citation
- A24048458
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 A24048458.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining in-service psychiatric treatment records and scheduling a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of any acquired psychiatric disorder.
- Denied
The Veteran's depression was rated at 50 percent prior to July 1, 2016. The Board found that the evidence did not support a higher rating due to occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity. For TDIU, the Veteran had multiple service-connected disabilities but his education and work experience were sufficient for sedentary or light labor employment.
- Granted
The Veteran's depression was rated at 50 percent prior to September 27, 2017. From September 27, 2017, the rating for depression increased to 70 percent.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals were dismissed due to the death of the appellant. The issues related to service connection for various conditions and disability ratings.
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