The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for gastroesophageal disability and erectile dysfunction due to insufficient medical opinions addressing the relationship between these conditions and his service, including any potential secondary effects from his service-connected disabilities.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners' opinions did not adequately address whether the Veteran's reported in-service symptoms made it as likely as not that his GERD and Barrett's esophagus had their onset in service or were otherwise causally related to service, including exposure to Agent Orange. The same was true for the ED claim.
- Claimed conditions
- Gastroesophageal Disability, Erectile Dysfunction
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 8, 2021
- Citation
- 21073512
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 21073512.
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.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's erectile dysfunction is secondary to his service-connected major depressive disorder, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claim of service connection for erectile dysfunction due to insufficient medical evidence and a need for a VA examination.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for Type II Diabetes Mellitus, Bilateral Lower Extremity Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy (Sciatic Nerve), Erectile Dysfunction, and Bladder Cancer in remission. Effective dates have been set for these awards as of July 14, 2004. The Veteran's claim for higher initial disability ratings and earlier effective dates are being remanded.
- Granted
The Veteran's erectile dysfunction is found to have had its onset during service, and the Board grants service connection for this condition.
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