Citation Nr: 21029616
Decision Date: 05/14/21	Archive Date: 05/14/21

DOCKET NO. 16-01 892
DATE: May 14, 2021

ORDER

Service connection for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is granted.

FINDING OF FACT

The Veteran's OSA was caused by his service-connected depressive disorder.

CONCLUSION OF LAW

The criteria for service connection for OSA have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303(d), 3.310.

REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION

The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Army from July 1976 until his honorable discharge in February 1983.

This decision is on appeal from a June 2014 rating decision which denied service connection for OSA. Although the Veteran subsequently filed another claim of service connection for OSA under the modernized review system (AMA), which the RO adjudicated, this legacy appeal remained pending before the Board and the Board will adjudicate the issue under the legacy system. Because this is an appeal of the original denial of service connection, no new and material evidence is required.

Entitlement to service connection for OSA.

Service connection shall be granted on a secondary basis under the provisions of 38 C.F.R. § 3.310 where it is demonstrated that a service-connected disorder has caused or aggravated a nonservice connected disability. See Allen v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 439 (1995). 

The Veteran was diagnosed with OSA in 2010. At a July 2019 VA examination, the examiner confirmed this diagnosis. Service connection has been in effect for depressive disorder since March 2011. In July 2019, the VA examiner opined that OSA was caused by the Veteran's depressive disorder. Therefore, service connection is warranted and the appeal is granted.

 

 

Jacqueline E. Miller

Acting Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	J. F. Sawka, 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 This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.