The Board remands the claim for a GI condition to obtain an addendum medical opinion regarding service connection on direct and secondary theories of entitlement, including obesity as an intermediate step.
The deciding factor: The July 2023 VA medical opinions were found inadequate due to their use of the 'proximate cause' standard in addressing secondary service connection, which has been deemed unlawful by Spicer v. McDonough, 61 F.4th 1360 (Fed. Cir. 2023).
- Claimed conditions
- gastroesophageal reflux disease, hernia hiatal with stricture of esophagus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- April 14, 2025
- Citation
- A25034251
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 913 · Granted: 41% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation A25034251.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
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 for esophageal stricture and gastroesophageal reflux disease due to a failure to obtain a medical opinion regarding the latter condition. The claim will be reconsidered after obtaining such an opinion.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an effective date prior to March 2, 2015, for TDIU was denied as the evidence did not show actual worsening within one year prior to his March 2, 2015, claim.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for gastroesophageal reflux disease and obstructive sleep apnea have been withdrawn, and the claims are dismissed.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeal contesting eligibility to attorney fees based on past-due benefits awarded in an October 3, 2025 rating decision. The AOJ issued a corrected FAN and amended FAN that replaced the previous decisions, leading to no valid appeal pending.
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