The Board has remanded the case due to unclear consideration of medication effects on the severity evaluations for chronic costochondritis and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). The Veteran should be afforded new VA examinations to assess the severity of his service-connected conditions without considering the ameliorative effects of medications used during the claim period.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the April 2019 decision impermissibly considered the ameliorative effects of medication when determining the appropriate evaluation for costochondritis and GERD, as the diagnostic codes do not contemplate medication.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic costochondritis, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) with antral gastritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 13, 2020
- Citation
- 20066181
Veterans Law Judge
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 20066181.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for chronic costochondritis and tinnitus, but remanded the claim for sleep apnea.
- Partly granted
The Board denied a rating in excess of 20 percent for chronic costochondritis and remanded the issue of entitlement to a rating in excess of 30 percent for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) with antral gastritis from November 8, 2016.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issues of entitlement to an initial rating in excess of 20 percent for chronic costochondritis and a rating in excess of 30 percent from November 8, 2016, for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) with antral gastritis for further development.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claim for a higher rating for chronic costochondritis, finding that her symptoms more closely align with a moderate disability rather than a moderately severe or severe one.
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