The Board has dismissed the claim of whether the reduction of the Veteran’s rating from 60 percent to 30 percent, effective January 1, 2019 for esophagitis and Barrett's esophagus was proper.
The deciding factor: The RO issued a rating decision reducing the Veteran's disability rating but did not issue a Statement of the Case (SOC) on this matter. The Veteran submitted a timely Notice of Disagreement (NOD), but the RO has not yet issued an SOC, and the Board lacks jurisdiction to adjudicate the claim.
- Claimed conditions
- esophagitis, Barrett's esophagus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 25, 2019
- Citation
- A19002302
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The appeal was dismissed due to a prohibited concurrent election under VA claims processing rules.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a new and relevant evidence to readjudicate the claim for Barrett's esophagus, and also granted an initial rating of 30 percent for GERD.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for skin cancer, type II diabetes, hypertension, ulcerative colitis with polyps, stomach ulcers, Barrett's esophagus, and fatty liver to correct duty-to-assist errors.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for hypertension on a direct basis and remanded the claim for service connection for Barrett's esophagus to obtain an additional opinion.
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.