The Board denied service connection for autoimmune pancreatitis, gastroesophageal reflux disorder (GERD), and hiatal hernia as they were not incurred in or caused by the Veteran's service, including toxic exposures.
The deciding factor: The VA NP opined that the conditions are less likely than not related to the Veteran's service or his service-connected diabetes mellitus, citing a lack of evidence supporting such a relationship and medical literature.
- Claimed conditions
- autoimmune pancreatitis, gastroesophageal reflux disorder (GERD), hiatal hernia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 10, 2025
- Citation
- 25014733
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 703 · Granted: 47% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 25014733.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to inadequate development of her exposure history and lack of adequate medical opinions. The case will be returned to the AOJ for further action.
- Granted
The Veteran's TDIU rating is granted with an effective date of March 15, 2017.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's initial disability rating for migraine headaches has been granted at 50 percent. The issue of service connection for hiatal hernia and esophagitis, related to PTSD, is remanded due to inadequate medical opinions.
- Granted
The Veteran's GERD with hiatal hernia is rated at a 30 percent disability rating, effective March 12, 2021.
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