The Board granted secondary service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, finding that the Veteran's service-connected lumbar disability and left ankle disability caused him to become obese, which in turn caused his obstructive sleep apnea.
The deciding factor: The private medical opinions provided by Dr. C.C. and Dr. Z.M. supported a causal relationship between the Veteran's service-connected disabilities, weight gain, and subsequent development of obstructive sleep apnea.
- Claimed conditions
- Obstructive Sleep Apnea
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- June 16, 2025
- Citation
- A25052542
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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