The appeal is remanded to the RO for additional development, including obtaining medical records and possibly scheduling an examination with a VA psychiatrist.
The deciding factor: Further development is required as the previous remand instructions were not fully complied with, specifically regarding contact with treating physicians who may have opinions linking the veteran's esophageal condition to his service-connected PTSD.
- Claimed conditions
- esophageal achalasia
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 30, 2009
- Citation
- 0903443
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,419 · Granted: 21% (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 0903443.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for IBS and esophageal achalasia but remanded decisions on Crohn's disease, constant urination, hypertension, bruxism, degenerative disc disease, low back condition, and neck condition.
- Denied
The VA treatment in August 2005 did not result in any additional disability, and the Veteran's current conditions are considered to be due to his pre-existing condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran is seeking compensation under the provisions of 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 for esophageal achalasia, which she claims was caused by improper and/or negligent VA treatment in October 1989 and May 1992. The Board has remanded the case to obtain relevant VA clinical documentation.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim for service connection for esophageal achalasia, finding that it was not incurred or aggravated by service and is not related to a service-connected condition.
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