Citation Nr: 21005524 Decision Date: 02/01/21 Archive Date: 02/01/21 DOCKET NO. 18-40 685 DATE: February 1, 2021 ORDER Service connection for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is denied. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The Veteran has a current gastrointestinal disability diagnosed as GERD. 2. The current GERD disability manifested many years after service separation and is not causally or etiologically related to active service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for GERD have not been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5103, 5103A, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.159, 3.303. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from June 1962 to October 1966. This matter is on appeal from an April 2016 rating decision issued by the Regional Office (RO). The Veteran testified in Denver, Colorado, at a Board videoconference hearing in April 2019 before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge. The hearing transcript has been associated with the record. This matter was previously before the Board in June 2019. The Board found that the March 2016 VA examination opinion was not adequate and that there was insufficient medical evidence of record to render a decision. The Board remanded in order to obtain a VA examination addendum opinion. The relevant VA examination addendum opinion was rendered in December 2019. The Board finds that the duties to notify and assist the Veteran in this case have been fulfilled. Neither the Veteran nor the representative has raised any issues with the duty to notify or duty to assist. See Scott v. McDonald, 789 F.3d 1375, 1381 (Fed. Cir. 2015). Legal Authority for Service Connection Service connection may be granted for disability arising from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. As a general matter, service connection for a disability requires evidence of: (1) the existence of a current disability; (2) the existence of the disease or injury in service, and; (3) a relationship or nexus between the current disability and any injury or disease during service. Service connection may be granted for any disease diagnosed after discharge, when all the evidence, including that pertinent to service, establishes that the disease was incurred in service. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(d). Service Connection for GERD The Veteran contends that he experienced GERD symptoms in service. At the April 2019 Board videoconference hearing, the Veteran testified that during service he would ingest baking soda as a way of treating the GERD symptoms. The Veteran also testified that he was given medication by military medical providers. The Veteran reports that he currently experiences acid reflux attacks once or twice a week. After a review of all the evidence, lay and medical, the Board finds that the Veteran has a current gastrointestinal disability, diagnosed as GERD. See December 2019 VA Examination. The weight of the evidence is against finding that the GERD is causally or etiologically related to active service. The Veteran submitted to two VA examinations, in March 2016 and in December 2019. The March 2016 VA examination opinion was deemed inadequate by the Board in the June 2019 Board remand. The December 2019 VA examination confirmed the GERD diagnosis. The VA examiner opined that the GERD was less likely than not incurred in or caused by service. The VA examiner reasoned that there are no complaints of or treatment for GERD symptoms in service, the service separation examination is silent for gastrointestinal or GERD symptoms, and the first documented symptoms of GERD of record are in 1987, decades after service separation. For these reasons, the Board finds that a preponderance of the evidence is against the Veteran’s claim for service connection for GERD, and the claim must be denied. See 38 U.S.C. § 5107; 38 C.F.R. § 3.102. J. PARKER Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board D. Costantino, Associate Counsel The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.