The Board remands the claim for service connection for GERD and hiatal hernia, including as secondary to service-connected PTSD, due to an inadequate VA examination.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners did not provide a medical opinion regarding whether GERD is proximately due to or aggravated by Fluoxetine prescribed for service-connected PTSD, and the examiner did not diagnose a hiatal hernia despite evidence of record.
- Claimed conditions
- GERD, Hiatal Hernia
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 28, 2025
- Citation
- A25047402
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including a head injury, headache disorder, erectile dysfunction, left earache disorder, chronic fatigue, right shoulder disorder, irritable bowel syndrome, right foot disorder, GERD, and left shoulder disorder, as the evidence did not support current diagnoses of these conditions.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew her appeal of all claims currently pending before the Board, including those for an earlier effective date for hypothyroidism and higher ratings for various conditions.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the veteran's appeals for service connection for various conditions due to a lack of jurisdiction over the claims.
- Dismissed
The appeal for an initial rating in excess of 70 percent, effective March 18, 2021, for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was withdrawn by the Veteran prior to the Board's decision and thus is dismissed.
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