The Veteran's service connection claims for various gastrointestinal and spinal conditions are remanded due to incomplete records, lack of rationale in the examination reports, and other procedural errors.
The deciding factor: There is insufficient evidence or inadequate medical opinions regarding the Veteran's claimed conditions and their relationship to his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- functional gastrointestinal disorder (also claimed as irritable bowel syndrome), cervical spinal stenosis, left upper extremity radiculopathy (claimed as neuropathy), secondary to cervical spinal stenosis, right upper extremity radiculopathy (claimed as neuropathy), secondary to cervical spinal stenosis, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), lumbar spinal stenosis with L3-L5 facet arthropathy with bilateral effusion at L3
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 7, 2024
- Citation
- A24044392
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 A24044392.
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 various conditions, including right shoulder disability, abdominal hernia, GERD, bilateral ankle disabilities, and bilateral foot disabilities. The evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were incurred or aggravated during the appellant's period of active duty.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied service connection for sinusitis and remanded the Veteran's claims for chronic lower back pain, right knee pain, left knee pain, neck pain, and GERD.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for left lower extremity radiculopathy and denied the claims for right knee disability, erectile dysfunction, GERD, sleep apnea, and hypertension. The decision is remanded for further action on these issues.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeals regarding service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and gastroesophageal reflux disease due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to service.
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