The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the Veteran's abdominal conditions and their relationship to service. The VA examiner was requested to provide a more detailed opinion on whether the Veteran's current symptoms are related to her service, as well as whether her major depressive disorder may have caused or aggravated her abdominal conditions.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the previous medical opinions were inadequate due to lack of consideration of the Veteran's lay statements and failure to address all issues raised in the remand directive.
- Claimed conditions
- abdominal disorder, chronic pancreatitis, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), pernicious anemia, hemorrhoids
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 13, 2019
- Citation
- 19171451
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 19171451.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeals for service connection for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and pernicious anemia, and the Board dismissed both appeals.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for right lower extremity sciatica associated with the Veteran's service-connected lumbosacral spine strain, but remanded claims for service connection for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and sleep apnea.
- Denied
The Board denied a rating in excess of 10 percent for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) as the appellant does not have a documented history of recurrent or refractory esophageal stricture(s).
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a prostate condition, GERD, PTSD, erectile dysfunction, arthritis (trigger finger), and an initial disability rating in excess of 10 percent for tinnitus.
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