The Board denied an increased disability rating for the appellant's service-connected Crohn's disease with bowel incontinence, finding that his symptoms did not meet the criteria for a higher rating prior to July 6, 2020, and since then have manifested with extensive leakage and fairly frequent involuntary bowel movements but without complete loss of sphincter control or serious complications.
The deciding factor: The appellant's Crohn's disease has resulted in symptoms such as frequent bowel movements (7-10 times per day), intermittent pain at the surgical site, occasional nausea and vomiting, and discretionary and overt fecal incontinence requiring a pad. These symptoms have not met the criteria for higher ratings.
- Claimed conditions
- Crohn's disease with bowel incontinence, status post healed fistula and ileocecectomy and ileal resection due to ileum stenosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 60%
- Decision date
- January 8, 2024
- Citation
- 24001259
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 399 · Granted: 41% (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 24001259.
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