The Board remands the matter for a VA examination to determine the severity of the Veteran's service-connected GERD with irritable bowel syndrome and to obtain a retrospective opinion.
The deciding factor: There was a pre-decisional duty-to-assist error as the AOJ did not obtain an intestinal conditions examination in conjunction with the GERD exam, and the October 2020 VA GERD examination is deemed inadequate due to missing documentation of shoulder pain during flare-ups.
- Claimed conditions
- Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) with Irritable Bowel Syndrome
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 26, 2025
- Citation
- A25017667
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 931 · Granted: 42% (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 A25017667.
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.
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- Granted
An earlier effective date of April 13, 2012, for the award of a 20 percent disability rating for right knee instability is granted.,The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have resulted in a TDIU since March 21, 2007.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss was denied as there is no evidence of a current disability. The claims for increased ratings for major depressive disorder, sinusitis, GERD with irritable bowel syndrome, and migraine headaches were also denied.
- Denied
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