The Veteran's hypertension is remanded for a determination on whether it may be due to herbicide exposure. The GERD and hiatal hernia are also remanded for an opinion on whether they were aggravated by the CABG surgery. A temporary total evaluation based on convalescence or hospitalization for the 2015 laparoscopic paraesophageal hernia repair is also remanded.,The Veteran's hypertension may be related to herbicide exposure, but a new examination is needed to determine if it was aggravated by his service-connected CABG. The GERD and hiatal hernia are remanded as VA carelessness or negligence could have worsened the preexisting conditions. A temporary total evaluation based on convalescence for the 2015 surgery is also remanded.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's hypertension may be related to herbicide exposure, but a new examination is needed to determine if it was aggravated by his service-connected CABG. The GERD and hiatal hernia are remanded as VA carelessness or negligence could have worsened the preexisting conditions.,The Veteran's temporary total evaluation based on convalescence for the 2015 surgery is also remanded due to the inextricability of the issues.
- Claimed conditions
- hypertension, GERD, hiatal hernia
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 8, 2019
- Citation
- 19177399
Veterans Law Judge
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 19177399.
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
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