The Board has determined that the Veteran's lay statements of record indicate a possible association between his abdominal hernia and service, but further medical examination is needed to determine if there is a link.
The deciding factor: Further medical examination is required to assess whether the Veteran’s abdominal hernia began during active service or is related to an incident in service.
- Claimed conditions
- abdominal hernia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 13, 2019
- Citation
- 19111756
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,812 · Granted: 30% (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 19111756.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's initial claim for a higher rating for hypertension has been granted, with a 10% disability rating. The issue of service connection for abdominal hernias is remanded due to the AOJ's failure to obtain an adequate medical opinion.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection for heat stroke was dismissed as the appellant requested withdrawal of the appeal.,Service connection for abdominal hernia secondary to a pre-existing service-connected condition (colon cancer) is granted.
- Granted
The Veteran's lumbar spine disability and right lower extremity radiculopathy are granted service connection. The Veteran's hypertension and abdominal hernia claims are remanded for further development, as is his claim for an increased rating for left lower extremity radiculopathy.
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