The Board has remanded the cases due to insufficient opinions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's thyroid disability and gastrointestinal disability, specifically whether they are related to service-connected conditions or environmental exposures.
The deciding factor: The VA medical opinion was inadequate as it did not provide separate rationales for causation and aggravation. The issues are inextricably intertwined with the thyroid disability claim.
- Claimed conditions
- Thyroid disability, Gastrointestinal disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 28, 2021
- Citation
- 21066119
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 21066119.
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 the Veteran's claim for service connection of a thyroid disability, finding that there is no evidence linking his current condition to his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for a thyroid disability and hypertension, as the Veteran's assertions regarding these conditions are not fully addressed in the current evidence.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to errors in the duty to assist and insufficient opinions regarding service connection for a gastrointestinal disability. The Veteran's symptoms include epigastric burning, regurgitation, nausea without vomiting, persistently recurrent epigastric distress, reflux, substernal pain, sleep disturbance caused by esophageal reflux, diarrhea, dysphagia, Barrett's esophagus, and esophagitis.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for a gastrointestinal disability, finding that his current condition is at least as likely as not related to his active military service.
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