The Board has remanded the claim for service connection for a bowel disability, including irritable bowel syndrome, as secondary to a service-connected abdominal stab wound. The case is being referred back to an expert in gastroenterological diseases to determine the nature and likely etiology of the Veteran's irritable bowel syndrome and rectal bleeding.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the January 2020 VA examiner did not provide sufficient qualifications or substantial compliance with the remand directive, necessitating a new examination by an expert in gastroenterological diseases.
- Claimed conditions
- irritable bowel syndrome, bowel disability
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 30, 2020
- Citation
- 20081704
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,316 · 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 20081704.
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 the Veteran's claim for service connection for adhesions as secondary to irritable bowel syndrome, finding that there was no nexus between the claimed condition and service or a service-connected disability.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for effective dates earlier than July 18, 2024, for the awards of service connection for tinnitus, tension headaches, and irritable bowel syndrome have been dismissed.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the appeals for service connection for depression, Gram Positive Cocci Condition, chronic bronchitis, irritable bowel syndrome, and diseases of Keratinization due to untimely filing of the Decision Review Request.
- Granted
The Veteran's deviated nasal septum was granted service connection. The claims for anxiety and sleep disturbance, erectile dysfunction, headaches, acid reflux, hypertension (high blood pressure), irritable bowel syndrome, and jaw condition were denied.
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