The Veteran's IBS and thoracic strain with lumbar spine osteoarthritis have been granted service connection as qualifying chronic disabilities, and a 10 percent disability rating has been assigned for the back condition.
The deciding factor: Service connection was established based on presumptive service connection due to undiagnosed illness under the Persian Gulf presumption. The Veteran's IBS is considered a medically unexplained chronic multi-symptom illness. A 10 percent disability rating was granted for the thoracic strain and lumbar osteoarthritis, as it meets the criteria for arthritis of two or more major joints.
- Claimed conditions
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Osteoarthritis of L1-2
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- May 10, 2019
- Citation
- 19136203
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,200 · Granted: 43% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 19136203.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including PTSD, right knee meniscal tear, and IBS, have rendered him unable to secure or follow any substantially gainful employment from May 1, 2020 to May 1, 2021. The Board finds that the evidence is in balance, with all reasonable doubt resolved in favor of the Veteran.
- Denied
The Board has denied the veteran's claim for an initial compensable disability rating for his IBS, finding that the evidence does not meet the criteria for a moderate or severe condition as defined by VA regulations.
- Granted
The Board has granted an initial 20 percent rating for service-connected vitamin D deficiency, finding that the Veteran's recurrent abdominal pain and diarrhea most closely approximates the criteria for a 20 percent rating under Diagnostic Code 6313. The claim for service connection for IBS was not addressed in this decision.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's IBS with GERD was granted an initial 60 percent rating. The Board has remanded the issue of service connection for obstructive sleep apnea due to insufficient medical opinions and development.
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