Citation Nr: A26040407 Decision Date: 04/29/26 Archive Date: 04/29/26 DOCKET NO. 210409-151461 DATE: April 29, 2026 ORDER Service connection for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is granted. FINDING OF FACT OSA had its onset during active service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran had active service in the U.S. Army from February 2010 to June 2018. The rating decision on appeal was issued in March 2021 and constitutes an initial decision; therefore, the modernized review system, also known as the Appeals Modernization Act (AMA), applies. In his April 2021 VA Form 10182, Decision Review Request: Board Appeal (Notice of Disagreement), the Veteran elected the Hearing docket. A January 2025 notification advised the Veteran that a hearing was scheduled for April 29, 2025. The Veteran did not appear for the scheduled Board hearing. Therefore, the Board may only consider the evidence of record at the time of the March 2021 agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) decision on appeal, as well as any evidence submitted by the Veteran or his representative within 90 days following the date of the scheduled hearing. 38?C.F.R. §?20.302(c). If evidence was submitted either (1) during the period after the AOJ issued the decision on appeal and prior to the date of the scheduled Board hearing, or (2) more than 90 days following the date of the scheduled hearing, the Board did not consider it in its decision. 38 C.F.R. §§ 20.300, 20.302(c), 20.801. In this case, the Board is fully granting the sole issue on appeal. Therefore, any procedural or pre-decisional duty to assist error was not prejudicial to the Veteran's claim. Service Connection Service connection may be granted for disability resulting from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5107; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. The three-element test for service connection requires evidence of: (1) a current disability; (2) in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a causal relationship between the current disability and the in-service disease or injury. Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1166-67 (Fed. Cir. 2004). The AOJ favorably found that the Veteran has a current OSA disability. Moreover, a March 2021 VA examiner noted that the Veteran was diagnosed with moderate OSA in 2019. Given this moderate severity, the examiner concluded that the Veteran's OSA was likely present during service which ended in June 2018, despite being diagnosed post-service. In other words, per the examiner, the Veteran's OSA likely had its onset during his period of active duty. There is no competent medical opinion to refute this conclusion or otherwise indicate an alternative etiology for OSA. Therefore, after resolving any doubt in favor of the Veteran, the Board finds that service connection for OSA is warranted. 38 U.S.C. § 5107; 38 C.F.R. § 3.102. JOHN Z. JONES Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Patel, Shamil 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.