The Board denied service connection for esophageal disability, finding that the evidence did not support a link between the condition and active service.
The deciding factor: The Board found no credible evidence of in-service incurrence or aggravation of an esophageal disorder, despite the Veteran's contentions. The absence of contemporaneous medical records related to esophageal symptoms during service was considered against him.
- Claimed conditions
- esophageal disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- December 22, 2021
- Citation
- A21020436
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation A21020436.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted service connection for esophageal disability, including hiatal hernia, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), stricture of the esophagus, gastritis, and eosinophilic esophagitis. The decision finds that the Veteran's symptoms began during active service and have continued since then.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board granted service connection for a back disability and denied service connection for neck, left ankle, right ankle, left trochanteric pain syndrome, OSA, esophageal disability, left wrist, and right knee disabilities. The decision is based on the Veteran's competent and credible statements regarding symptom onset during service.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's claims for jaw, esophageal, left hip, left ankle, right ankle, voiding, and right hip disabilities have been denied as there is no current disability found at any time during or recent to the filing of the claim.,No VA examination was obtained for these conditions. The Board finds that the post-service treatment records do not provide evidence of a diagnosed condition.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions are dismissed due to untimely filing of the Notice of Disagreement (NOD). The appeal is also dismissed as there was no good cause shown for the late filing.
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