The Veteran's claim to establish service connection for a right ankle disability has been reopened. Service connection for GERD is granted as it is aggravated by medications prescribed for her service-connected disabilities. The issues of increased evaluations for bursitis and left ankle surgery residuals are dismissed.
The deciding factor: Evidence showed that the Veteran’s GERD was aggravated by medications used to treat her service-connected disabilities, specifically NSAIDs for pain management of her service-connected low back, right hip, and left ankle disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- Right Ankle Disability, Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 23, 2020
- Citation
- 20005787
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,316 · Granted: 43% (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 20005787.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder is granted a 70% rating, effective July 15, 2024. The Veteran's GERD remains at a 10% rating.
- Granted
The Veteran's PTSD is granted at a 70 percent rating prior to July 29, 2024. The GERD rating remains at 30 percent disabled but no higher.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's IBS with GERD was granted an initial 60 percent rating. The Board has remanded the issue of service connection for obstructive sleep apnea due to insufficient medical opinions and development.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for right and left ankle disabilities, as well as denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss. The Veteran's claims for other conditions are remanded due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
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