The Board remands the claims for service connection for hemorrhoids, costochondritis, gastroenteritis, pseudofolliculitis barbae, GERD, and lower back sprain due to inadequate VA medical opinions.
The deciding factor: The VA medical opinions are found to be inadequate as they failed to provide a thorough rationale or address the 14-year gap in treatment records.
- Claimed conditions
- hemorrhoids, costochondritis, gastroenteritis, pseudofolliculitis barbae, GERD, lower back sprain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 9, 2024
- Citation
- A24064693
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 a head injury, headache disorder, erectile dysfunction, left earache disorder, chronic fatigue, right shoulder disorder, irritable bowel syndrome, right foot disorder, GERD, and left shoulder disorder, as the evidence did not support current diagnoses of these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for hemorrhoids due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error, requiring an additional direct medical opinion.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a new VA examination to determine if the Veteran has costochondritis or muscle pain in the chest that is related to his service.
- Granted
The Board granted a 10 percent rating for hemorrhoids, which fully satisfies the Veteran's appeal.
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.