The Veteran's service-connected obstructive sleep apnea does not warrant a rating in excess of 50 percent, but he is granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU).
The deciding factor: The evidence did not show chronic respiratory failure with carbon dioxide retention or cor pulmonale, nor the need for tracheostomy. However, his service-connected disabilities rendered him unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation.
- Claimed conditions
- Obstructive Sleep Apnea
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- May 20, 2025
- Citation
- A25045077
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 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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