The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete examination and lack of substantial compliance with previous remand directives. The Veteran's service treatment records show multiple gastrointestinal issues, but no diagnosis or treatment for GERD during service. The VA examiner found a negative nexus between current GERD and service, citing alcohol abuse as a potential cause.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner could not establish a link between the Veteran's current GERD and his in-service gastrointestinal symptoms due to incomplete examination and lack of substantial compliance with previous remand directives.
- Claimed conditions
- Gastroesophageal disease (GERD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 12, 2020
- Citation
- 20072821
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,170 · Granted: 38% (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 20072821.
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 hearing loss, remanded the back condition and GERD claims for further development, and found insufficient evidence to establish a current disability of hearing loss.
- Denied
The Board denied an increased rating in excess of 10 percent for the Veteran's GERD, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the symptoms reported and the medical examination findings.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection for GERD and an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD and unspecified anxiety disorder, are being remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions and consideration of new evidence.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied an initial rating higher than 10 percent for Barrett's esophagus with GERD and remanded the skin disability claim. The Veteran is being asked to provide updated medical records and a physician opinion regarding his skin conditions.
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