GERD (acid reflux) decisions — 2024

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including left foot disability (claimed as pes planus and calcaneal spur), hypertensive vascular disease, lumbar spine condition, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). The appeals are all denied.

The Board has dismissed the Veteran's claims for service connection for lung cancer, anxiety, a low back condition, right foot tingling, left foot tingling, a bilateral eye condition, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), hypoglycemia, and headaches as it lacks jurisdiction over these issues due to concurrent elections.

The Board has decided that the November 13, 2007 rating decision was clearly and unmistakably erroneous in failing to grant service connection for GERD. The claim is being remanded for further adjudication.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection of OSA as secondary to his service-connected GERD, finding that it is more likely than not that the OSA developed from the GERD.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for right inguinal hernia repair, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), neck disability, hypertension, hemorrhoids, mild renal insufficiency (claimed as renal failure), colitis, and bilateral shoulder disabilities due to incomplete records and inadequate examinations.

The Board has remanded the case due to an inadequate opinion regarding whether the Veteran's sleep apnea is secondary to his service-connected duodenitis and gastritis with GERD. A new medical opinion must be obtained that defines aggravation as 'any increase in disability' rather than 'beyond the natural progression'.

The Veteran was granted a TDIU prior to August 23, 2023, due to his service-connected disabilities preventing him from obtaining and maintaining gainful employment. The issue of TDIU beginning on or after August 23, 2023, is moot as the Veteran has been in receipt of a combined 100% rating.

The Board has remanded the claim of service connection for GERD due to insufficient evidence and a failure to obtain an addendum opinion regarding direct and secondary service connection.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for bilateral nuclear cataracts, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and heart disability due to potential errors in satisfying a regulatory or statutory duty.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for the VA to obtain information about his non-VA insurance and any response from him or his providers regarding an EOB, as well as additional medical records related to other expenses he claims.

The Board dismissed the AMA appeal for service connection for impairment of sphincter control (claimed as bowel disorder to include fecal incontinence), alopecia areata, and acid reflux due to a claims processing error. The Veteran's previously denied claims were reopened and remanded for additional development.

The Veteran's appeal for an increased rating in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected GERD is being remanded due to the inadequacy of the February 2020 VA examination, which did not consider the ameliorative effects of medication and the frequency of symptoms.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error based on new law implemented after the September 2020 AOJ decision. The PACT Act requires VA to provide an examination and obtain a medical opinion addressing the possibility of a nexus between the claimed disability and the TERA (due to active service in the Southwest Asia theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War).

The Veteran's claim for service connection for gastroenteritis and GERD is granted due to the submission of new and relevant evidence. The case is remanded for a VA examination.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient reasoning in the VA examination regarding whether the Veteran's IBS is secondary to his service-connected GERD. The examiner did not consider the aggravation prong of secondary service connection.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for a rating in excess of 10 percent for GERD and for TDIU due to his service-connected GERD. The remand includes obtaining a new VA examination to assess the severity of the GERD, considering the ameliorative effects of medications, and developing the issue of entitlement to TDIU as an element of the increased rating claim.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claims for service connection are remanded due to inadequate VA examinations and failure to secure military personnel records.

The Veteran withdrew his appeals for service connection for hypertension, a colon condition to include gastritis, ulcers, and intestinal metaplasia, GERD, right hip condition, left hip condition, left ankle condition, right knee condition, and sleep apnea syndrome.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral knee disabilities, but denied service connection for hiatal hernia, inguinal hernia, stomach ulcer, acid reflux, and hypertension.,Service connection was established for right and left knee disabilities due to in-service parachute jumps.

The Veteran's GERD is caused by his service-connected generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). The Board finds that the Veteran's gastroenteritis may have had its onset in service or be etiologically related to service, but a new medical opinion is needed to address this.