The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected posttraumatic stress disorder and an initial 10 percent rating for a scar of the left upper extremity associated with left wrist ganglion cyst.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there was a nexus between the Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea and his service-connected posttraumatic stress disorder, based on the intermediate step of obesity. The scar was also rated at 10 percent as it had one painful scar for the entire period on appeal.
- Claimed conditions
- Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Scar of the Left Upper Extremity
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- April 22, 2025
- Citation
- A25036568
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
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 disabilities and denied higher ratings for several service-connected conditions.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected psychiatric disorders, lumbar and cervical spine disabilities, bilateral radiculopathy of the upper extremities, and bilateral radiculopathy and neuropathy of the lower extremities.
- Denied
The Board denied a rating in excess of 50 percent for PTSD, finding that the Veteran's symptoms more closely approximated those associated with a 50 percent rating.
- Partly granted
The appeal for entitlement to service connection for obstructive sleep apnea was granted, while other appeals were dismissed as untimely and remanded for further action on essential tremors.
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