The Board denied service connection for irritable bowel syndrome and liver damage, finding that the evidence did not support a secondary relationship to the Veteran's service-connected left ankle disability.
The deciding factor: Medical opinions found no causal or aggravating relationship between the service-connected condition and the claimed conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), Liver damage
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 26, 2018
- Citation
- 18138953
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 18138953.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), finding that the Veteran does not have current diagnoses of these conditions.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for a separate grant of service connection for GERD, as a residual of her cholecystectomy, is granted effective May 19, 2024. The claims for increased ratings for cholecystectomy residuals and esophageal spasms are remanded.
- Granted
The Veteran's GERD with IBS is rated at 30 percent effective April 21, 2020. The Board found the symptoms of severe diarrhea and more or less constant abdominal distress meet the criteria for a 30 percent rating.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for GERD, IBS, and TBI due to a duty to assist error in failing to schedule VA examinations and obtain medical opinions.
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