BVA decisions by condition
Hiatal hernia: BVA grant rates and what wins
From 2017 to 2026, the Board of Veterans' Appeals decided a hiatal hernia issue in 1,911 decisions. It granted the hiatal hernia issue in 49.5% of them, above the 19.4% grant rate for all conditions, denied it in 39.5%, and remanded it in 13.6%. Counting only decisions on the merits (granted or denied), 55.6% were granted.
Decisions
1,911
2017–2026
Granted
49.5%
All conditions: 19.4%
Granted on the merits
55.6%
Granted ÷ (granted + denied)
Remanded
13.6%
Denied: 39.5%
Hiatal hernia outcomes by year
| Year | Issues decided | Granted | Denied | Remanded | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 87 | 27.6% | 43.7% | 19.5% | 9.2% |
| 2018 | 105 | 31.4% | 47.6% | 17.1% | 3.8% |
| 2019 | 98 | 40.8% | 40.8% | 17.3% | 1.0% |
| 2020 | 163 | 42.3% | 47.2% | 10.4% | 0.0% |
| 2021 | 186 | 40.3% | 45.7% | 14.0% | 0.0% |
| 2022 | 174 | 37.9% | 44.3% | 16.1% | 1.7% |
| 2023 | 225 | 44.0% | 37.3% | 15.1% | 3.6% |
| 2024 | 361 | 55.4% | 32.7% | 11.4% | 0.6% |
| 2025 | 502 | 53.4% | 36.1% | 9.6% | 1.0% |
| 2026 | 140 | 56.4% | 30.0% | 11.4% | 2.1% |
Each row counts issues (each condition the Board decided), so the shares add up to 100%. Other: dismissed, withdrawn or no clear outcome. Years with fewer than 50 issues are left out.
Evidence in granted and denied hiatal hernia decisions
For each kind of supporting evidence: how often the Board granted the hiatal hernia issue on the merits when the decision mentioned it, compared with decisions that did not. These are associations, not causes, and evidence is recorded per decision, not per issue.
| In the record | Decisions | Granted when present | When absent | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Favorable VA exam | 332 | 66.6% | 53.2% | +13.4 pts |
| Positive nexus opinion | 251 | 66.2% | 54.1% | +12.1 pts |
| Private medical opinion | 776 | 60.8% | 51.7% | +9.1 pts |
| Lay statement | 1,684 | 56.5% | 48.9% | +7.5 pts |
| Treating physician opinion | 126 | 59.6% | 55.3% | +4.3 pts |
| Combat service | 66 | 51.9% | 55.7% | −3.8 pts |
| Claimed as secondary | 84 | 35.6% | 56.2% | −20.6 pts |
- The Board applied the benefit-of-the-doubt rule (38 CFR 3.102) in 64.7% of the decisions that granted hiatal hernia.
- The Board found the veteran's statements credible in 33.3% of grants and 16.7% of denials.
Negative evidence in the record
An unfavorable exam or a negative nexus opinion often sits in the same record as favorable evidence, and the Board weighs them against each other. So these rows show how often hiatal hernia was still granted when the record contained the negative item, not that the item helped.
| In the record | Decisions | Granted when present | When absent | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Negative nexus opinion | 718 | 52.1% | 57.5% | −5.4 pts |
| Unfavorable VA exam | 1,619 | 53.3% | 72.2% | −18.9 pts |
Why the Board granted or denied hiatal hernia
Most common reasons in grants
- Considerable impairment of health34
- Symptoms productive of severe impairment of health26
- Symptoms productive of considerable impairment of health24
- Symptoms met criteria for 30% rating21
- Symptoms meet criteria for 30% rating13
- Productive of considerable impairment of health13
- Considerable impairment of health found12
- GERD rated by analogy to hiatal hernia under DC 73468
Most common reasons in denials
- Preponderance of the evidence against the claim44
- Symptoms did not meet criteria for higher rating29
- Symptoms not productive of considerable impairment of health22
- Symptoms did not meet criteria for 30% rating20
- No evidence of considerable impairment of health16
- Symptoms did not meet criteria for considerable impairment of health14
- Already at the maximum schedular rating13
- Symptoms did not meet criteria for 30% or 60% rating11
Numbers are decisions that gave the reason. Reasons are short phrases extracted by AI from each decision; common wordings of the same reason are grouped. Benefit of the doubt is reported above.
Recent hiatal hernia decisions
Granted
Symptoms met criteria for 60% rating under DC 7346; Melena with moderate anemia; Pyrosis, reflux, regurgitation, dysphagia, nausea, vomiting; Diarrhea, substernal pain, alternating diarrhea/constipation, abdominal distention; Functional impact on daily life (soiling, concentration, sleep, lethargy); Resolving reasonable doubt in Veteran's favor
Pre-amended criteria more favorable; Symptoms cause severe impairment of health; Rated by analogy under DC 7346
Symptoms of pain, vomiting, material weight loss, and melena identified.; Diagnostic Code 7346 (hiatal hernia) applied by analogy as most beneficial.; Veteran's reports of symptoms found probative and outweigh examiners' findings.
Denied
Veteran's GERD symptoms did not meet criteria for 30% rating.; No evidence of persistently recurrent epigastric distress, dysphagia, pyrosis, regurgitation, and substernal pain.; No evidence of considerable impairment of health.
Veteran's GERD symptoms did not meet criteria for 30% rating.; Examiners noted no daily symptoms or requirement for daily medication.; Symptoms did not result in considerable impairment of health.
No esophageal stricture documented; Symptoms did not meet criteria for considerable impairment of health; No functional impact on work noted by examiners
Rules that apply to hiatal hernia claims
- 38 CFR 3.303
Principles of service connection
Read it in VA Law Explorer - 38 CFR 3.310
Secondary service connection and aggravation
Read it in VA Law Explorer - 38 CFR 3.102
Reasonable doubt (benefit of the doubt)
Read it in VA Law Explorer
Research your hiatal hernia case
Narrow by year, judge, evidence or secondary condition, read the decisions, and export a research memo.
How these numbers are calculated
- Rates count decisions in which the Board decided a hiatal hernia issue, by the outcome of that issue. Other issues in the same decision can have different outcomes.
- “Granted on the merits” leaves out remands and dismissals. “All conditions” is the grant share across every condition issue in the data.
- The data comes from CaseScribe's AI extraction of public BVA decisions (2017–2026) and can contain errors. It is updated automatically as new decisions are added.