The Veteran's GERD is granted as secondary to her service-connected knee disabilities. The claim for low back disability, related to the knees, is also granted on a secondary basis. The claim for headaches has been reopened and remains pending.
The deciding factor: Service connection was established for GERD due to its being caused by medication used for service-connected knee disabilities. The low back disability was found to be aggravated by her service-connected knee disabilities. The headaches claim was reopened as new evidence related to the current existence of a headache disability has been submitted.
- Claimed conditions
- Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), Low back disability, Headaches
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 3, 2020
- Citation
- 20037821
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 20037821.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a low back disability and an increased rating for his acquired psychiatric disorder. The Board found that there was no evidence linking the current disabilities to military service.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected low back disability alone does not prevent him from securing and following a substantially gainful occupation.
- 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.
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