The Board denied service connection for GERD, Barrett's esophagus, ILD, asthma with COPD and bronchiectasis, and an initial compensable disability rating for hypertension as the evidence did not show a relationship between these conditions and the Veteran's active service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner opined that there was no medical or scientific evidence supporting a correlation between the Veteran's conditions and his in-service exposure to herbicides such as Agent Orange, and other risk factors outweighed any potential connection.
- Claimed conditions
- gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and Barrett's esophagus syndrome, interstitial lung disease (ILD), asthma with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and bronchiectasis, hypertension (HTN)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- October 7, 2025
- Citation
- A25086752
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 899 · Granted: 45% (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 A25086752.
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: Denied
The Board denied service connection for treatment purposes only under Chapter 17 for various conditions, including cervical spine condition, right upper extremity nerve condition, left upper extremity nerve condition, headache condition, right wrist condition, left wrist condition, right elbow condition, left elbow condition, right shoulder condition, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), bilateral pes planus, right ankle disorder, left ankle disorder, and left knee disorder.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for chronic kidney disease stage IV with dialysis and hypertension, as well as a claim for a psychiatric disorder secondary to these conditions. The remand is due to issues of new evidence received after the initial rating decisions.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the Veteran's appeal requests as they were not timely filed, and no good cause was shown for the late filing.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including left hip disorder, bilateral ankle disorder, bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy, heart disorder, insomnia, sexual arousal disorder, gynecological disorder, rheumatoid arthritis, and HTN. The evidence did not support a current diagnosis of these conditions or their relationship to military service.
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