The Board denied an increased rating for the Veteran's esophagus stricture and remanded a claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not support a higher rating for the Veteran's esophagus stricture, as his symptoms were already compensated under existing ratings. The Board also found that there was no separate injury to the pharynx warranting a different rating.
- Claimed conditions
- esophagus stricture, vocal cord cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Ionizing radiation
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- June 23, 2025
- Citation
- A25054104
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,549 · Granted: 26% (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 A25054104.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's heart disorder was not incurred in service and is not presumed to have been incurred in service.,For the entire appeal period, ankylosis of the thoracolumbar spine or intervertebral disc syndrome with incapacitating episodes are not shown nor were they diagnosed.,Voiding dysfunction at most is manifested by nocturia occurring three to four times per night and daytime voiding between two to three hours.,There is no treatment for an active recurrence of vocal cord cancer during the appeal period, and there is no evidence of residuals of vocal cord cancer to include treatment therefor.,The service-connected adjustment disorder does not more nearly approximate occupational and social impairment.,The Veteran meets the schedular requirement for TDIU due to his service-connected disabilities for the entire appeal period.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for esophagus stricture and gastroesophageal reflux disease were denied as the evidence did not support a finding that he had submitted his claims prior to June 13, 2012.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Board dismissed the veteran's appeals for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, cervical strain, esophagus stricture, traumatic brain injury (TBI), and migraine headaches due to untimely notice of disagreement. The appeal for B-cell lymphoma was remanded for further development.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The veteran's appeal requests for service connection for vocal cord cancer, dementia, neck cancer, and COPD were dismissed as untimely.
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