The Board remands the service connection claim for obstructive sleep apnea to obtain an adequate addendum opinion regarding its nature and etiology.
The deciding factor: The November 2023 VA addendum opinion is not consistent with the Federal Circuit's holding in Spicer, which clarified the standard to be applied to secondary service connection claims.
- Claimed conditions
- obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 29, 2025
- Citation
- 25015276
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 907 · Granted: 35% (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 25015276.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's OSA is granted as service connected. The Veteran's infectious disease claim and stomach disability claim are remanded for further examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to errors in obtaining relevant medical records and authorization for private treatment providers. The issues include heart disorder, OSA, sinusitis, lumbar spine disorder, and right knee disorder all related to Agent Orange exposure.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with persistent depressive disorder and insomnia.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeals regarding service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and gastroesophageal reflux disease due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to service.
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