The Board granted service connection for sleep apnea as secondary to posttraumatic stress disorder and granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due solely to the single disability of service-connected PTSD, while denying an evaluation in excess of 70 percent for PTSD.
The deciding factor: The private medical expert opinion provided greater probative value than the VA examiners' opinions, as it addressed the Veteran's specific circumstances and cited relevant studies supporting a causal link between PTSD and sleep apnea. The evidence was at least in equipoise regarding whether the Veteran's current sleep apnea is due to his service-connected PTSD.
- Claimed conditions
- sleep apnea
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- March 18, 2025
- Citation
- A25025038
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
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 conditions, including prostate cancer and related disabilities, urinary incontinence, sleep apnea, hypertension, varicose veins, lumbar spine disability, hip arthritis, shoulder arthritis, ankle arthritis, knee strain, knee replacement, and hand arthritis. The only condition granted was a 10 percent rating for a fracture of the right proximal first metacarpal.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for sleep apnea as there is no evidence of an in-service injury or disease, and no competent evidence linking the condition to service.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for asthma and remanded claims for insomnia and sleep apnea. Other conditions were denied.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including sinusitis, elbows condition, cervical condition, erectile dysfunction, kidney condition, sleep apnea, wrists condition, asthma, shoulders condition, ankles condition, eye condition (bilateral dry macular degeneration), peripheral vascular disease (heart condition), and rhinitis.
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