The Board denied service connection for GERD, pancreatitis, kidney disease, and Barrett's Esophagus as the evidence did not support a nexus between these conditions and the Veteran's active service.
The deciding factor: The October 2024 VA examiners provided negative nexus opinions based on the lack of medical evidence supporting a relationship between the Veteran's TERA exposure and his claimed conditions, as well as the absence of symptoms during service and onset many years later.
- Claimed conditions
- gastrointestinal reflux disease (GERD), pancreatitis, kidney disease, Barrett's Esophagus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 2, 2025
- Citation
- A25057129
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,500 · Granted: 29% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation A25057129.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection for hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, and kidney disease are being remanded due to the need for VA examinations to determine if these conditions are related to his exposure to contaminants in the water supply at Camp Lejeune during service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for heart disease, hypertension, kidney disease, and low back pain due to potential errors in duty to assist. The AOJ is required to verify the Veteran's alleged exposure to herbicide agents and obtain private treatment records.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for asthma, COPD, pancreatitis, stroke, and left arm weakness (claimed as secondary to stroke) based on the presumption of exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune. The evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were related to service or due to in-service exposure.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for diabetes mellitus type II, hypertension, and kidney disease, finding that these conditions are related to the Veteran's exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune. The decision also remanded the issue of service connection for obstructive sleep apnea.
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