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VA rating schedule, diagnostic code 7312
Liver disease is a group of conditions that damage how your liver works. It includes long-term hepatitis (liver inflammation, often from a virus) and cirrhosis (scarring of the liver). The VA rates liver problems under its digestive-system rules in 38 CFR 4.114. To be paid (service-connected), the VA generally looks for a current diagnosis, something that happened during service, and a link (called a "nexus") tying the two together. Under the rules, the VA rates cirrhosis, long-term liver disease without scarring, and the residuals of a direct liver injury under separate diagnostic codes.
Cirrhosis of the liver is rated under Diagnostic Code 7312, at 0, 10, 30, 60, or 100 percent. Higher ratings are driven mainly by a lab number called the MELD (Model for End-Stage Liver Disease) score and by how serious the symptoms are. For example, a MELD score of 15 or higher, or continuous daily debilitating symptoms with problems like fluid in the belly (ascites), bleeding veins (variceal hemorrhage), or confusion (hepatic encephalopathy), match the 100 percent level. Long-term liver disease without cirrhosis — which the rule says includes hepatitis B, autoimmune liver disease, and others — is rated under Diagnostic Code 7345, where higher ratings come from things like weight loss, daily fatigue, and needing continuous medication. Hepatitis C is listed under Diagnostic Code 7354 but is evaluated using the 7345 criteria. The VA does not stack these liver codes on top of each other; it assigns the single code that best fits the overall disability picture.
There is a presumptive pathway for cirrhosis. The VA lists "Cirrhosis of the liver" as a chronic disease, which means that if it appears to at least a 10 percent (compensable) level within one year of qualifying service, the VA can grant service connection even without direct proof it began in service. There is also a toxic-exposure route: for veterans exposed to the contaminated water at Camp Lejeune, liver cancer is on the VA's presumptive list, so it can be service-connected without the usual nexus proof when the exposure rules are met. When these presumptive rules apply, they can ease or remove the normal burden of showing a link to service.
This is general educational information about how the VA's rules work — it is not legal advice or a VA decision about your claim.
Grounded in federal regulations and VA guidance, independently reviewed June 2026. Educational information, not legal advice or a VA determination.
Across 14,118 real Board appeals for Liver disease (hepatitis, cirrhosis)
A denial is often not the end either — remands (shown below) are sent back for more development and can still end in a grant. These are historical outcomes, not a prediction of your case.
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Among the appeals that were granted or partly granted, the most common ways Liver disease (hepatitis, cirrhosis) was linked to service:
In appeals where Liver disease (hepatitis, cirrhosis) was the only condition decided and the Board granted it, the rating most often assigned was:
These appeals involved a recognized exposure — which can mean the link to service is presumed, with no nexus to prove:
The Veteran's hepatitis B was granted an initial 10 percent evaluation prior to May 17, 2024, and a 20 percent evaluation thereafter. The Veteran's COPD is not service-connected.
The Board has determined that the Veteran's Hepatitis C with cirrhosis is related to service, and therefore grants service connection for these conditions.
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), finding that his service-connected posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) resulted in weight gain, which is a risk factor for NAFLD.
The Board has granted service connection for hepatitis C and its secondary effects on other conditions, including cirrhosis of the liver, diabetes mellitus type II, esophageal varices, hepatic encephalopathy, and splenomegaly.
The Board has granted service connection for benign lung nodules, calluses of both feet, flat feet, and hepatitis C. The effective dates are not specified as the claims were based on new evidence submitted by the Veteran.
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including his bilateral lower extremity neuropathy due to diabetes mellitus, have resulted in loss of use of both lower extremities. The Board has granted eligibility for specially adapted housing and dismissed the claim for a special home adaptation grant as moot.
Jump to the decisions from a specific year.
New decisions are added every week, and older years are actively being backfilled — a year that looks thin or missing here (especially 2011–2017) is a gap in our library, not in the Board’s decisions.
Veterans appealing Liver disease (hepatitis, cirrhosis) often look at outcomes for these too:
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