The Board has remanded the claim for service connection of a gastrointestinal disorder, including GERD, due to its secondary nature to service-connected PTSD and medication use. The Veteran's symptoms are related to his service-connected condition but it is unclear if his medications contributed to his condition.
The deciding factor: The examiner needs to determine whether the Veteran’s service-connected PTSD with major depression caused or aggravated his gastrointestinal disorder, including GERD.
- Claimed conditions
- Gastrointestinal disorder (including GERD), Hernia hiatal
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 8, 2019
- Citation
- 19126034
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,421 · Granted: 29% (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 19126034.
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 Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's GERD and hernia hiatal are related to his service, specifically during active duty or a period of ACDUTRA/INACDUTRA.
- Granted
The Veteran's GERD disability is granted a rating of 30 percent, effective August 16, 2016.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the cases for additional examinations and opinions to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran's gastrointestinal disorder, sleep apnea, and respiratory disorders. The claims are now before the Board for further review.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a gastrointestinal disorder, including as secondary to obesity and PTSD. The most probative evidence did not reach the level of equipoise in determining whether the Veteran has a current gastrointestinal disorder related to his service-connected musculoskeletal disorders or PTSD.
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