The Board remands the claim for an earlier effective date for service connection for central sleep apnea to obtain a medical opinion regarding its etiology, specifically whether it is related to the Veteran's posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The deciding factor: Remand is warranted due to pre-decisional errors in duty-to-assist and to consider an earlier claim for secondary service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- central sleep apnea
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 9, 2025
- Citation
- A25032920
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities and denied an increased rating for central sleep apnea.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for central sleep apnea, finding that the condition began during the Veteran's active service.
- Dismissed
The veteran's appeal was dismissed as the Board Appeal request was not timely filed.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for sleep apnea, secondary to PTSD, on a causation basis.
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