The Board remands the claim for a more adequate VA opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea, considering both direct service connection and secondary causes including obesity due to service-connected disabilities.
The deciding factor: The TERA opinion is inadequate as it addresses Southwest Asia exposures when this Veteran did not have Southwest Asia service. The Board finds remand necessary for an adequate VA opinion addressing the etiology of OSA.
- Claimed conditions
- Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 16, 2025
- Citation
- A25108257
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,772 · Granted: 37% (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 A25108257.
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.
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The Board has remanded the claims of entitlement to service connection for vertigo and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error. The Veteran's hearing loss is not rated higher than 10 percent.
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The Board has determined that the claims for service connection for OSA and insomnia must be remanded due to inadequate VA examinations and opinions, as well as a failure to obtain TERA opinions on all relevant exposures.
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The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for an initial rating in excess of 50 percent for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and a separate rating for chronic pulmonary embolism due to inadequate VA examinations.
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The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD. The Veteran's lay statements and medical records are considered in determining whether there is a nexus between current symptoms and service.
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