The Board remands the claim for a disability rating in excess of 10 percent for GERD and hiatal hernia to correct a duty to assist error.
The deciding factor: A VA opinion is needed to address the nature and severity of the Veteran's GERD and hiatal hernia without considering the ameliorative effects of medication.
- Claimed conditions
- gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and hiatal hernia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 8, 2024
- Citation
- A24073350
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 30 percent rating for the Veteran's right upper extremity nerve damage and denied an increased rating for left upper extremity nerve damage. Other issues were remanded.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for left and right long finger strains, a right ankle strain, and GERD with hiatal hernia. The appeal seeking increased ratings for chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, allergic rhinitis, and scars was dismissed due to severance of service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for a higher rating for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and hiatal hernia, multilevel cervical spondylosis, left upper extremity radiculopathy, and right upper extremity radiculopathy to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, effective from the date of the February 2025 rating decision.
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