The Board has granted a 30 percent evaluation for the veteran's hiatal hernia with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), which is more than the initial 10 percent assigned in September 1999. The evidence shows persistent symptoms such as abdominal and sternal pain, nausea, vomiting, constipation, left shoulder and chest pain, and heartburn.
The deciding factor: The veteran's hiatal hernia with GERD was manifested by persistently recurrent epigastric distress with dysphasia, pyrosis, and regurgitation, accompanied by substernal or arm/shoulder pain, which is indicative of considerable impairment of health.
- Claimed conditions
- hiatal hernia, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 30%
- Decision date
- August 29, 2006
- Citation
- 0627298
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,677 · 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 0627298.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including right shoulder disability, abdominal hernia, GERD, bilateral ankle disabilities, and bilateral foot disabilities. The evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were incurred or aggravated during the appellant's period of active duty.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied service connection for sinusitis and remanded the Veteran's claims for chronic lower back pain, right knee pain, left knee pain, neck pain, and GERD.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for left lower extremity radiculopathy and denied the claims for right knee disability, erectile dysfunction, GERD, sleep apnea, and hypertension. The decision is remanded for further action on these issues.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeals regarding service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and gastroesophageal reflux disease due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to service.
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