The VA denied the veteran's claims for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for hiatal hernia with gastroesophageal disease, gastritis, and chronic peptic ulcer disease and a higher rating for lumbosacral strain. The Board found that the evidence did not meet the criteria for a disability evaluation in excess of 10 percent.
The deciding factor: The veteran's hiatal hernia with gastrointestinal reflux disease, gastritis, and chronic peptic ulcer disease was not characterized by persistently recurrent epigastric distress with dysphagia, pyrosis, and regurgitation, accompanied by substernal or arm or shoulder pain, productive of considerable impairment of health.
- Claimed conditions
- hiatal hernia, gastroesophageal disease, gastritis, chronic peptic ulcer disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- January 26, 2005
- Citation
- 0501858
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,440 · Granted: 30% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0501858.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to unclear evidence regarding the diagnosis of gastritis and its relation to service. The Veteran needs to provide records, and a VA examiner will review his medical history and determine if gastritis is related to his military service or any other conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has found that remand is needed for the Veteran's claims due to duty to assist errors, including clarification of periods of service and obtaining relevant records. The Veteran will be afforded new medical examinations for each claimed disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to inadequate development of her exposure history and lack of adequate medical opinions. The case will be returned to the AOJ for further action.
- Granted
The Veteran's TDIU rating is granted with an effective date of March 15, 2017.
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