The Board has identified several procedural issues and remanded the claims for an increased rating for anal fissures, entitlement to a TDIU, and service connection for a liver disorder (claimed as biliary cystadenoma). The Veteran is also entitled to a new VA examination for his anal fissures. The AOJ must issue a statement of the case regarding the issues of entitlement to an increased rating for GERD with diverticulitis and service connection for a liver disorder.
The deciding factor: The Board found procedural errors in the claims process, including failure to include certain claims in the Statement of the Case (SOC) and remanded the cases due to these errors. The Veteran is also entitled to new examinations for his anal fissures and GERD with diverticulitis.
- Claimed conditions
- anal fissures, GERD with diverticulitis, liver disorder (claimed as biliary cystadenoma)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 21, 2019
- Citation
- 19148848
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,820 · Granted: 26% (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 19148848.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's anal fissures are granted as secondary to his service-connected irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The initial rating for IBS is granted at 30 percent. The claim of service connection for hemorrhoids is remanded.
- Denied
The Board denied the appellant's appeal, finding that his character of discharge from service is a bar to VA benefits due to willful and persistent misconduct. The Board also found no compelling circumstances to mitigate this misconduct.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection are remanded due to the need for additional medical examinations and opinions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the cases of hemorrhoids and anal fissures, as they are inextricably intertwined. The VA examiner is required to provide an opinion on whether the Veteran's hemorrhoids are related to his active service.
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