The Board has decided to remand the case due to incomplete opinions from VA specialists regarding whether the Veteran's kidney stones, hypertension, GERD and hiatal hernia, sinusitis, costochondritis, and DDD are related to VA treatment. The AOJ needs to obtain additional information and addenda from the provided specialists.
The deciding factor: The provided specialist opinions did not fully address all of the claimant's assertions regarding the medical standard of care and the significance of his treatment records in the 1980s.
- Claimed conditions
- kidney stones, hypertension, Stage 2 chronic kidney disease, electrolyte disorder, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), hiatal hernia, sinusitis, costochondritis, degenerative disc disease (DDD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 25, 2019
- Citation
- 19188774
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,500 · 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 19188774.
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.
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The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including VA examinations.
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- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension and increased rating for anxiety disorder have been denied. The Board found that there is no evidence of a current disability meeting the criteria for hypertension, and the Veteran's anxiety disorder does not meet the criteria for a higher rating.
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