The Board remands the claims for service connection for an anxiety condition, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) to obtain a more adequate medical opinion.
The deciding factor: The March 2024 VA examination was found inadequate as it did not consider the Veteran's lay statements regarding stressors during his military service. Additionally, the private medical opinions provided were insufficient in providing an etiological link between the conditions and the Veteran's military service.
- Claimed conditions
- anxiety condition, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 2, 2025
- Citation
- A25040486
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeals for service connection for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and pernicious anemia, and the Board dismissed both appeals.
- Partly granted
The Veteran was granted a 70 percent initial disability rating for PTSD effective December 2, 2021, but the claim for an increased rating in excess of 70 percent was denied. The appeal also included claims for service connection and ratings for various conditions, some of which were granted while others were remanded.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) based on the Veteran's exposure to in-service chemical agents.
- Denied
The Board denied a rating in excess of 10 percent for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) as the appellant does not have a documented history of recurrent or refractory esophageal stricture(s).
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