The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for respiratory and gastrointestinal disabilities due to a lack of medical evidence regarding his exposure during service in Southwest Asia.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not address the environmental hazards or symptoms experienced by the Veteran during his service, which is significant given that his STRs are unavailable.
- Claimed conditions
- allergic rhinitis and allergies, GERD and hiatal hernia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 28, 2018
- Citation
- 18139517
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 18139517.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's unspecified anxiety disorder, degenerative arthritis of the spine, GERD and hiatal hernia, and migraine headaches require further evaluation due to lack of recent VA examinations.,Additional medical evidence may be needed for a proper assessment.
- Dismissed
The appeal of the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss has been dismissed. The Board has also remanded his claims for gout, neck disability, and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and hiatal hernia.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for initial compensable ratings for various service-connected disabilities due to inadequate recent VA examinations. The Veteran will need new evaluations to determine current severity.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for further development due to new evidence and additional examination.
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