The Veteran's claim for service connection for GERD is granted, and he is awarded a 20% evaluation for his lumbar strain with degenerative disc disease of the thoracolumbar spine. The claims for right and left lower extremity sciatic radiculopathy are also granted at 20%. Other claims remain pending.
The deciding factor: The March 2017 VA examiner found that the Veteran's GERD was aggravated by his service-connected lumbar spine disorder, meeting the criteria for secondary service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- December 30, 2019
- Citation
- 19196638
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 19196638.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matters for additional development, including obtaining private treatment records and conducting VA examinations.
- Partly granted
The Board denied the claims for an initial compensable rating for left ear sensorineural hearing loss, service connection for a right ear hearing loss disability, and a left eye disorder. However, it granted service connection for a back disability and radiculopathy of both lower extremities as secondary to the back disability.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss, arthritis of the cervical spine, cervical radiculopathy of the left arm, back disability, left elbow condition, left shoulder condition, left wrist condition, left hand condition, hypertension, and an initial rating of 10 percent for coronary arteriosclerosis prior to September 24, 2024.
- Denied
The Board denied the claims for service connection for a facial injury, head injury, and left thumb injury as there was no evidence of current disability or functional impairment. The claims for GERD, squamous mucosa, migraine headaches, and hypertension were remanded for further development.
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