The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected mental health condition and increased the rating for tension headaches to 30 percent. The claim for an increased rating for posttraumatic stress disorder was denied.
The deciding factor: The private physician opinion outweighed the VA examiner’s negative nexus opinion, supporting that the Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea is caused by his service-connected PTSD. For the tension headaches, the Veteran experienced characteristic prostrating attacks occurring on average once a month over the last several months, warranting a 30 percent rating.
- Claimed conditions
- obstructive sleep apnea, tension headaches, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 30%
- Decision date
- April 1, 2025
- Citation
- A25029582
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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, effective from the date of the February 2025 rating decision.
- Partly granted
The Veteran was granted a 70 percent initial disability rating for PTSD effective December 2, 2021, but the claim for an increased rating in excess of 70 percent was denied. The appeal also included claims for service connection and ratings for various conditions, some of which were granted while others were remanded.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeals for service connection for bilateral pes planus, obstructive sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issue of entitlement to service connection for obstructive sleep apnea due to a duty to assist error.
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