Citation Nr: 21069945 Decision Date: 11/22/21 Archive Date: 11/22/21 DOCKET NO. 17-31 840 DATE: November 22, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for obstructive sleep apnea (claimed as a sleep disturbance) is dismissed. Entitlement to service connection for asthma (claimed as a lung condition) is dismissed. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. A July 2021 rating decision granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea. 2. The same July 2021 rating decision granted service connection for a respiratory disorder (asthma). 3. In the July 2021 rating decision, the AOJ rated the Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea and asthma together as a single disability; the assigned Diagnostic Code (DC) 6847 rates sleep apneas. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. The Veteran's service connection claim for a sleep disorder has been granted and there is no longer an allegation of error or fact or law to be decided by the Board. 38 U.S.C. § 7105; 38 C.F.R. § 19.55. 2. The Veteran's service connection claim for asthma (claimed as a lung condition) disorder has been granted and there is no longer an allegation of error or fact or law to be decided by the Board. 38 U.S.C. § 7105; 38 C.F.R. § 19.55. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran served on active duty from May 1989 to May 1993. This matter comes to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) from a January 2017 rating decision issued by the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ). In March 2021, the Board remanded the appeal for new medical opinions, which were obtained in June and July 2021. Based on the July 2021 opinion the AOJ issued a July 2021 rating decision granting service connection for the Veteran's claims. In September 2021, the Veteran's case was returned to the Board. 1. Entitlement to service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and asthma. The Veteran contends he has had difficulties breathing and sleeping since service. See March 2017 Notice of Disagreement (NOD) at 4. Given that the Veteran's service-connected clams for asthma and obstructive sleep apnea have been granted since the Board remanded those claims, there is no remaining issue for the Board to decide. The Board may dismiss any appeal which fails to allege specific error of fact or law in the determination being appealed. 38 U.S.C. § 7105. Now that the Veteran has been awarded VA compensation benefits for the disorders on appeal, he has obtained a full grant for the benefits sought and his appeal has been rendered moot. The Board recognizes the Veteran's disorders were rated as a single disability; however, it is apparent to the Board the rating reflects the AOJ's determination that obstructive sleep apnea is the predominant disability. VA regulations for certain respiratory disorders , to include the ratings for asthma (DC 6602) and sleep apneas (6847), instruct the rating official to assign the DC which reflects the predominant disability, with the assignment to the next higher rating when the severity of the overall disability warrants a higher rating. 38 C.F.R. § 4.96(a). Here, the AOJ's decision to assign a single rating reflects the AOJ's decision that a 50 percent disability rating under 6847 compensates the Veteran's overall asthma and sleep disorder disability picture. The single rating assigned to the Veteran's claim constitutes a full grant for the benefits sought on appeal. The record does not reflect that the Veteran has filed a notice of disagreement with the initial disability assigned. Because there are no other allegations of fact or law for the Board to decide, his claim must be dismissed. Grantham v. Brown, 114 F.3d. 1156, 1159 (Fed. Cir. 1997) (where a claim for service connection is granted during the pendency of the appeal, a second NOD must be filed to initiate appellate review of the claim for "downstream" issues, like the rating assigned for the disability). DAVID L. WIGHT Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Dean, Michael S. The Board's decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.