Citation Nr: 21027376
Decision Date: 05/05/21	Archive Date: 05/05/21

DOCKET NO. 16-35 554
DATE: May 5, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to service connection for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from March 1995 to March 1999.  This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a March 2015 rating decision by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO).

In February 2020, the Board remanded this matter for further development.  The case has been returned to the Board at this time for further appellate review.

Entitlement to service connection for OSA is remanded.

Pursuant to the February 2020 Board remand, records from January 2017 and May 2019 sleep studies have been associated with the claims record.  These sleep studies reflect a diagnosis of OSA.  In addition, the Veteran has stated that he began experiencing problems sleeping while in service and that he has experienced these symptoms since his time in service.  However, the Veteran has not been afforded a VA examination regarding his OSA claim.  The Board finds that remand for a VA examination regarding this claim is warranted.  See McLendon v. Nicholson, 20 Vet. App. 79, 83 (2006) (VA is obliged to provide an examination where there is insufficient information to decide the claim and there is an indication the current disability may be associated with service).

This matter is REMANDED for the following action:

Obtain an opinion with a qualified clinician to determine whether the Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea is related to his military service.  If the VA examiner determines that a physical examination of the Veteran is necessary to provide a reliable opinion as to causation, such examination should be scheduled; however, the Veteran should not be required to report for a physical examination as a matter of course, if it is not found to be necessary.

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After review of the claims file, the examiner should opine whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent or greater probability) that the Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea began in or is otherwise caused by the Veteran's active service.  In doing so, the examiner must address the Veteran's statements that he began experiencing problems sleeping in 1997, while he was in service, and that these symptoms have continued since that time.  The examiner is advised that he or she may not dismiss the Veteran's report of symptoms capable of lay observation solely on the basis that such complaints were not corroborated by contemporaneous treatment records.

All findings must be reported in detail and all opinions must be accompanied by a clear rationale.  If any of the above issues cannot be resolved without resorting to speculation, then a detailed medical explanation as to why this is so must be provided.

 

 

L.M. YASUI

Acting Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	M. Elias, Associate Counsel

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.