The Board has determined that the Veteran's claims for service connection for hiatal hernia and ventral hernias, including as secondary to his service-connected Crohn's disease, need further development. The case is being remanded for a new VA examination to address direct and secondary service connection.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner’s opinions regarding the Veteran's service connection claims are internally inconsistent and insufficient to determine whether the Veteran has or had a hiatal hernia during his appeal period. Additionally, there was no opinion addressing the relationship between the Veteran's hiatal hernia and his service-connected Crohn's disease.
- Claimed conditions
- hiatal hernia, ventral hernias
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 23, 2020
- Citation
- 20074798
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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