The Veteran's gastrointestinal symptoms, including abdominal distension, bloating, nausea, and frequent semi-formed stool, are considered an undiagnosed Gulf War illness. The Board found that the Veteran served in Iraq during the Persian Gulf War and exhibited signs of chronic disability related to this illness during his service.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's gastrointestinal symptoms began during his active duty service in Iraq and persisted after he returned home. Despite diagnostic testing, no current diagnosis was provided for these symptoms.
- Claimed conditions
- Gastrointestinal symptoms
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 19, 2020
- Citation
- 20020299
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 20020299.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for an unspecified allergy (allergic rhinitis) due to insufficient evidence regarding its relationship to service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to unclear diagnoses and conflicting opinions. The Veteran is seeking service connection for a respiratory condition, gastrointestinal disability, fatigue, and lightheadedness, all of which he contends are related to his Gulf War service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's respiratory condition (including pneumonia) is remanded for further development.,The Veteran's memory and comprehension difficulties, mental health issues, nightmares, vivid dreams, irritability, anger, anxiety, mood swings, low coping abilities, depression, conflicts, hypervigilance, time lapses, compulsive/impulsive habits, gastrointestinal symptoms, joint aches, muscle fatigue, gum condition, genital warts, and an ear, nose, and throat condition (including as due to an undiagnosed illness related to Gulf War service) are remanded for further development.,The Veteran's entitlement to TDIU is remanded.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for gastrointestinal symptoms, finding that they are due to a known clinical diagnosis of gastroesophageal reflux disease and less likely related to his service.
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