The Board has denied service connection for a functional gastrointestinal disorder, including IBS, and remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's gastrointestinal disability.
The deciding factor: The July 2017 VA examiner concluded that the diagnosis of IBS was in error because it could not be made when other diseases were present causing similar symptoms. The examiner also indicated that the Veteran did not have a functional gastrointestinal disorder, as specific diagnosed conditions accounted for his symptoms.
- Claimed conditions
- Functional gastrointestinal disorder, Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), Chronic diverticulitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 9, 2019
- Citation
- 19152618
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,680 · Granted: 24% (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 19152618.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
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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