The Board has granted service connection for OSA on a secondary basis to the Veteran's service-connected PTSD. The claims of entitlement to service connection for back and right knee disabilities are remanded due to duty-to-assist errors.
The deciding factor: The evidence is evenly divided as to whether the Veteran's back and right knee disabilities are directly related to service, caused by service-connected PTSD, or aggravated by service-connected PTSD. Additional medical opinions are needed to resolve this uncertainty.
- Claimed conditions
- Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), Back disability, Right knee disability
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 31, 2026
- Citation
- A26028655
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 A26028655.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of a back disability, finding that there was no evidence to support a nexus between his current condition and active duty service.
- Remanded (sent back)
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
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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