The appeal is remanded to adjudicate the Veteran's claim of clear and unmistakable error (CUE) in a May 2018 rating decision that discontinued a separate evaluation for GERD and included it in the evaluation of ulcerative colitis.
The deciding factor: The Board lacks jurisdiction over any theory of CUE that has not been adjudicated by the RO in the first instance, and the AOJ did not address the Veteran's CUE claim as raised.
- Claimed conditions
- Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), Ulcerative Colitis
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 19, 2025
- Citation
- A25044628
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.
- Granted
The Board granted a 10 percent evaluation for the Veteran's GERD, finding that his condition is productive of daily medications to control dysphagia and is otherwise asymptomatic.
- Denied
The Board denied earlier effective dates for the grant of service connection and increased evaluations for GERD, sinusitis, allergic rhinitis, and TBI.
- Partly granted
The Board denied earlier effective dates for service connection and increased ratings, except for a granted 30 percent rating for headache disability.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for an initial compensable rating for allergic rhinitis, a higher rating for ulcerative colitis, and service connection for right and left lower extremity RLS, as well as left maxillary sinusitis. The claim for infertility was remanded.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.