The Board granted service connection for hypertension as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected OSA, restored a 60 percent rating for asthma with obstructive sleep apnea, and granted a 20 percent rating for dry eye syndrome during the period on appeal from September 17, 2023, to October 11, 2024. The Board denied a higher rating for unspecified depressive disorder.
The deciding factor: The evidence was in relative equipoise as to whether the Veteran's HTN and dry eye syndrome were proximately due to or the result of his service-connected OSA and asthma with OSA respectively, while there was persuasive evidence against finding that the Veteran's unspecified depressive disorder had manifested with more than occupational and social impairment.
- Claimed conditions
- hypertension (HTN), asthma with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), dry eye syndrome, unspecified depressive disorder, left hip condition
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 60%
- Decision date
- November 14, 2025
- Citation
- A25099133
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,017 · Granted: 36% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation A25099133.
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.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeal of entitlement to service connection for dry eye syndrome claimed as visual impairment, including blurry vision, blindness, double vision due to procedural error. The Veteran's claim for service connection for sleep apnea was denied because there is no evidence of a current diagnosis of sleep apnea.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's claim for an initial compensable rating for OSA is denied as his sleep apnea has not been manifested by persistent daytime hypersomnolence or required use of a breathing assistance device such as a CPAP machine.,The Veteran's claims for service connection for dry eye syndrome and an increased rating for left knee disability are remanded due to procedural errors in the adjudication process.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for treatment purposes only under Chapter 17 for various conditions, including cervical spine condition, right upper extremity nerve condition, left upper extremity nerve condition, headache condition, right wrist condition, left wrist condition, right elbow condition, left elbow condition, right shoulder condition, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), bilateral pes planus, right ankle disorder, left ankle disorder, and left knee disorder.
- Granted
The Veteran's anxiety and depressive disorders were rated at a 70 percent disability rating effective May 6, 2015.,Effective May 6, 2015, the Veteran was granted an earlier effective date for DEA benefits.
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