The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and an effective date prior to December 8, 1986 for his service-connected irritable bowel syndrome. The issues were remanded due to insufficient evidence regarding the timing of his service connection.
The deciding factor: The medical records did not show a diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome prior to December 8, 1986 and there was no evidence that the veteran filed an informal claim for this condition before then. The effective date could not be earlier than December 8, 1986 as it is the earliest date on which service connection was granted.
- Claimed conditions
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Right Knee Meniscectomy with Traumatic Arthritis
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 26, 2002
- Citation
- 0208479
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0208479.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for PTSD, generalized anxiety disorder, and somatic symptom disorder, as well as presumptive service connection for basal cell carcinoma under the PACT Act. Service connection was denied for chronic fatigue syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome, right restless leg syndrome, left restless leg syndrome, an increased rating for psychiatric disorder, bilateral hearing loss, a left forehead surgical scar, and allergic rhinitis.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for irritable bowel syndrome, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), other specified trauma and stressor related disorder, and pain of cervical & cervicothoracic regions.
- Granted
The Board granted an earlier effective date of September 29, 2016 for the award of a 30 percent rating for irritable bowel syndrome.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is granted a 30 percent disability rating, but no higher. The claims for increased ratings and service connection for other conditions are denied.
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