The Veteran's claim for service connection for a gastrointestinal condition (other than Crohn’s disease) claimed as ulcer is being remanded due to duty to assist error. The AOJ needs to schedule the Veteran for an appropriate VA examination to determine if any gastrointestinal condition, including esophagitis and hiatal hernia, had its onset in service or is otherwise related to in-service injury or disease.
The deciding factor: The AOJ failed to obtain a proper examination that could provide an opinion on whether the Veteran's gastrointestinal conditions are related to his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- esophagitis, hiatal hernia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- October 19, 2020
- Citation
- A20015678
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,902 · Granted: 11% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation A20015678.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to inadequate development of her exposure history and lack of adequate medical opinions. The case will be returned to the AOJ for further action.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's TDIU rating is granted with an effective date of March 15, 2017.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's initial disability rating for migraine headaches has been granted at 50 percent. The issue of service connection for hiatal hernia and esophagitis, related to PTSD, is remanded due to inadequate medical opinions.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's GERD with hiatal hernia is rated at a 30 percent disability rating, effective March 12, 2021.
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