The Board has determined that the Veteran's postoperative residuals of a perforated bowel are not due to VA carelessness, negligence, or error in judgment. However, the evidence is in equipoise regarding whether a reasonable person would have proceeded with the barium enema procedure despite knowing about the risk of a perforated bowel.
The deciding factor: The Board found that while there was no direct causation from VA's actions, the evidence was evenly balanced on whether a reasonable person would have consented to the procedure given its risks.
- Claimed conditions
- Perforated Bowel, Ulcerative Colitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- January 20, 2015
- Citation
- 1502740
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 1502740.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board allowed the benefit or issue identified in this decision. Review the original order: other issues in the same appeal may have a different outcome, and this decision does not predict another claim.
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.
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- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for an initial compensable rating for allergic rhinitis, a higher rating for ulcerative colitis, and service connection for right and left lower extremity RLS, as well as left maxillary sinusitis. The claim for infertility was remanded.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities, including Reiter's Syndrome, from December 11, 2001.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The appeal is remanded to adjudicate the Veteran's claim of clear and unmistakable error (CUE) in a May 2018 rating decision that discontinued a separate evaluation for GERD and included it in the evaluation of ulcerative colitis.
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