The Board remands the claim for a gastrointestinal disorder, to include acid reflux and/or GERD, as secondary to service-connected disabilities due to an inadequate VA examination.
The deciding factor: The 2020 VA opinion is not adequate because it failed to provide sufficient rationale for determining whether the Veteran's GERD was related to service or his service-connected conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- Gastrointestinal disorder, to include acid reflux and/or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 15, 2025
- Citation
- A25043858
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for increased ratings and service connection due to a pre-decisional error in failing to provide the Veteran with a VA mental disorders examination and not obtaining complete VA treatment records.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, diabetes mellitus, type II (DMII), right upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, left upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, and erectile dysfunction. Service connection was granted for a lumbar spine disorder, headaches, and dizziness. The TDIU claim was dismissed as moot.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a bilateral hearing loss disability, a gastrointestinal disorder, obstructive sleep apnea, and a thoracic spine disorder. The effective date for increased evaluations and new grants of service connection were also denied.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for tinnitus and pseudofolliculitis barbae (PFB) but denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability. Several conditions were remanded for further development.
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