The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for a stomach disorder with diarrhea as secondary to his service-connected residuals of a compression fracture at T5, finding that there was no evidence linking the condition to service or any incident thereof.
The deciding factor: There is no medical evidence showing a direct link between the veteran's service-connected back disability and his current stomach disorder with diarrhea. The Board found that the preponderance of the evidence did not support the claim for secondary service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- stomach disorder with diarrhea
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- April 1, 2003
- Citation
- 0306318
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,175 · Granted: 22% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0306318.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the veteran's service connection claims for various conditions, including chronic fatigue syndrome, psychiatric disorders, skin disorders, respiratory disorders, stomach disorders, headaches, and nerve injuries. The claims were reopened on new evidence but ultimately denied.
- Whole decision: Granted
The veteran's claims for service connection were granted, with the diagnoses of hair loss, stomach disorder with diarrhea, blurred vision dizziness eye pain and tearing, chest and pulmonary disability, and bleeding gums being found to be related to his service in the Persian Gulf. The preponderance of evidence supported these findings.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.