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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 Board decisions mentioning 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 whole-decision outcomes, not condition-specific success rates or a prediction of your case.
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These are decision-level labels in granted or partly granted decisions mentioning Liver disease (hepatitis, cirrhosis). They do not establish which theory succeeded for this condition.
In appeals where Liver disease (hepatitis, cirrhosis) was the only condition decided and the Board granted it, the rating most often assigned was:
A decision may address several conditions. Its overall outcome or exposure tags do not establish what happened to each individual claim. Verify the specific issue against the original Board decision.
Browse decisions mentioning Liver disease (hepatitis, cirrhosis) →Jump to the decisions from a specific year.
Coverage is incomplete and may lag publication. 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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