The Veteran's GERD is being remanded for a new VA examination to determine if it was caused or aggravated by her service-connected asthma. The examiner will also assess whether the Veteran's medications used to treat her asthma cause or aggravate her GERD.
The deciding factor: The examiner needs to provide an opinion on whether the Veteran's GERD is at least as likely as not (50 percent probability or greater) caused by or aggravated by her service-connected asthma, including any medication use for asthma treatment.
- Claimed conditions
- Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), Asthma
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 16, 2020
- Citation
- 20003504
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,858 · Granted: 24% (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 20003504.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal for service connection for Dupuytren's contracture of the left hand, right hand, and GERD is remanded due to inadequate VA examination opinions and failure to consider toxic exposure risk activities during service.
- Denied
The Veteran's GERD is currently rated at 10 percent disabling, but the Board found that his symptoms do not meet or approximate the criteria for a higher rating.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), finding that both conditions are secondary to the Veteran's service-connected lower back condition and sinusitis, respectively.
- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for bladder cancer, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) as there is no evidence to support a link between these conditions and the Veteran's military service.
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