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Denied

The veteran's hiatal hernia and GERD have been rated at 60 percent disabling. However, his employment was terminated for tampering with a witness, which does not affect his current employability status. The RO has not addressed the TDIU claim due to service-connected disabilities, including hiatal hernia.

The deciding factor: The veteran's disability picture is best reflected by Diagnostic Code 7346 (hiatal hernia), and he currently meets the criteria for a 60 percent evaluation under this code. The RO has not adjudicated his TDIU claim based on this disability, which may affect his eligibility for benefits.

Claimed conditions
hiatal hernia, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), status post Nissen fundoplication
How they argued it
Direct service connection
Exposure basis
None
Rating assigned
60%
Decision date
April 4, 2006
Citation
0609779

Veterans Law Judge

JEFF MARTIN

Decisions by this judge: 1,242 · Granted: 26% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0609779.

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