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 assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 19, 2020
- Citation
- A20015678
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for chronic kidney disease, atrial fibrillation, hiatal hernia, COPD, and prostate cancer as a result of toxic exposure during the Veteran's military service.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 30 percent disability rating for GERD and hiatal hernia, effective March 31, 2020, but denied an earlier effective date and a higher initial rating.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for diabetes mellitus type II, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), hiatal hernia, stage 3 chronic kidney disease, varicose veins of the right lower extremity, and varicose veins of the left lower extremity as there was no evidence to support a nexus between these conditions and the Veteran's service.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for diverticulosis, GERD, and hiatal hernia as the evidence did not show a link to an in-service disease or injury.
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