The Board remands the claim for service connection of obstructive sleep apnea, secondary to right knee patellofemoral pain syndrome, to obtain a new medical opinion addressing whether the Veteran's service-connected condition caused or aggravated obesity and if so, whether that obesity was a substantial factor in causing his sleep apnea.
The deciding factor: The March 2025 VA opinion is inadequate as it does not address whether the Veteran's right knee patellofemoral pain syndrome aggravated obesity, which is required for secondary service connection under VA regulations.
- Claimed conditions
- Obstructive Sleep Apnea
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 24, 2025
- Citation
- A25101685
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 831 · Granted: 48% (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 A25101685.
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.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea as secondary to his service-connected left knee and left ankle conditions.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected other specified insomnia disorder.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and heart disability, including coronary artery disease, as these conditions are found to be proximately due to or the result of the Veteran's service-connected PTSD.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Neck Disability, and Bilateral Upper Extremity Radiculopathy. The decision is based on the Veteran's active service and medical evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
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