The Board denied service connection for gastrointestinal disabilities, including ulcerative colitis, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and diverticulitis, due to a lack of evidence linking these conditions to exposure to contaminated drinking water at Camp Lejeune during military service.
The deciding factor: The medical opinions provided by VA did not adequately address the Veteran's theory that his gastrointestinal disabilities were caused by exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.
- Claimed conditions
- ulcerative colitis, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), diverticulitis
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Camp Lejeune water
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 18, 2020
- Citation
- 20074010
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,757 · Granted: 23% (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 20074010.
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The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including right shoulder disability, abdominal hernia, GERD, bilateral ankle disabilities, and bilateral foot disabilities. The evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were incurred or aggravated during the appellant's period of active duty.
- Granted
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