The Board has determined that a VA examination is necessary to determine the nature and etiology of any current gastrointestinal disability, including GERD. The Veteran's service treatment records show in-service complaints of various gastrointestinal symptoms, but no definitive diagnosis or treatment for GERD.
The deciding factor: The examiner will be asked to provide an opinion as to whether it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran's current gastrointestinal disability is etiologically related to his documented in-service gastrointestinal symptomatology.
- Claimed conditions
- gastrointestinal disability, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), irritable bowel syndrome
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 8, 2009
- Citation
- 0921372
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 0921372.
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.
- 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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for adhesions as secondary to irritable bowel syndrome, finding that there was no nexus between the claimed condition and service or a service-connected disability.
- 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.
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