The Board remands the claim for a new VA examination to determine if the Veteran's severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is proximately due to or aggravated by his service-connected interstitial lung disease, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), and lung transplant.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner's opinion was found inadequate as it did not apply the required 'but-for' analysis for determining secondary service connection, as directed by the Board's September 2023 remand directives.
- Claimed conditions
- severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 5, 2025
- Citation
- 25014585
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 793 · Granted: 28% (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 25014585.
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 Board has determined that the Veteran's OSA is related to his service-connected spondylosis lumbar spine disability and obesity, which are intermediate steps in determining whether OSA can be service connected.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- Granted
The Veteran's major depressive disorder is found to be caused by his service-connected low back and radiculopathy disabilities, which prevent him from doing enjoyable activities and daily living tasks.
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