The Veteran's esophageal reflux was granted a rating of 10 percent, effective December 14, 2011. Service connection for arthritis of the left hand was denied as not being related to service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found that the arthritis is not causally or etiologically related to service and did not manifest within one year of discharge.
- Claimed conditions
- esophageal reflux, arthritis of the left hand
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- November 25, 2013
- Citation
- 1338799
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 1338799.
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.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the Veteran's appeals for service connection and increased rating claims due to a concurrent election under the Appeals Modernization Act (AMA). The issues were docketed in error as the AOJ was still reviewing them.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including arthritis of the entire skeletal system (other than cervical spine, right shoulder, bilateral hands, and left foot), a left knee condition (other than arthritis), and other specific joints. The claims were not granted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for arthritis of the right and left hands to schedule a VA examination.
- Partly granted
The appeal for an earlier effective date for PTSD was dismissed. The claims for service connection for various conditions were remanded for further evaluation.
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