IBS & irritable bowel decisions — 2002

The Board has determined that the veteran's irritable bowel syndrome is secondary to his service-connected rectal prolapse and grants this claim.

The Board has determined that the veteran's irritable bowel syndrome is service-connected, based on medical evidence linking his in-service gastrointestinal symptoms to his current condition.

The Board dismissed the veteran's appeal due to his withdrawal of the left ankle disability and hearing loss claims, while the gastrointestinal disorder claim was reopened based on new evidence.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including bronchial asthma, sinusitis, allergic rhinitis, ethmoiditis and pharyngitis, headaches, irritable bowel syndrome, and a left ankle disability.

The Board has determined that the veteran's residuals of a pneumothorax with fractured ribs meet the criteria for a 10 percent rating.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 30 percent for irritable bowel syndrome with helminthiasis, finding that the disability is currently manifested by symptomatology including colicky abdominal pain and parasitology findings of Trichuris trichiura. The maximum schedular evaluation has been granted.

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have service connection for gastritis and denied a higher rating for irritable bowel syndrome with diverticulosis.

The veteran's claims for higher initial evaluations and increased ratings were denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a higher evaluation for low back syndrome, but granted compensable evaluations for dry skin of the feet.

The VA denied the veteran's claim for an increased evaluation for her service-connected irritable bowel syndrome, currently rated at 30 percent. The evidence did not meet the criteria for a higher rating.

The veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for service connection of irritable bowel syndrome was denied. The RO found that the earliest possible legal date for service connection is June 25, 1999, when the veteran submitted his claim.

The veteran's service-connected disabilities prevent him from maintaining substantial gainful employment, and a TDIU rating is granted.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus and a medically unexplained irritable bowel syndrome, both presumed to be due to Gulf War service. Service connection was denied for the veteran's claimed psychiatric disorder and digestive disorder.

The Board has determined that the veteran's fractured right tibia is secondary to his service-connected shell fragment wounds of the left leg, and granted service connection for this condition.

The Board has granted service connection for hiatal hernia as secondary to irritable bowel syndrome and increased the rating for irritable bowel syndrome with history of gastrointestinal disorder characterized by spasm and irregularity of duodenal bulb from 10% to 30%. The veteran's claim is denied in all other respects.

The Board has granted the application to reopen the veteran's claim of service connection for residuals of fractured left ribs, but denied the application to reopen the claim of service connection for porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT).

The veteran's vocational rehabilitation plan was changed from a position of agency case worker/management to real estate appraiser, but the change was not approved due to concerns about his physical limitations and potential job instability.

The Board denied service connection for residuals of a head injury and an injury to the ribs, finding no evidence of current disabilities or causal relationship between service and these conditions.

The Board has granted service connection for the claimed conditions (depression, anxiety, headaches, irritable bowel syndrome, stomach disorder, and heart disorder) as secondary to PTSD.

The Board does not have jurisdiction to review the veteran's claims of entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss, low back disability and neck disability, or the ratings assigned to the service-connected residuals of a left elbow fracture and irritable bowel syndrome.

The veteran's irritable bowel syndrome is presumed to have been incurred during service as a former prisoner of war.