The Board granted service connection for a gastrointestinal disability as secondary to the Veteran's degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine with thoracic strain.
The deciding factor: The evidence persuasively supports that the Veteran's gastrointestinal disability is caused by his service-connected lumbar spine disability, based on medical opinions and the development of symptoms after the onset of the lumbar condition.
- Claimed conditions
- gastrointestinal disability, degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine with thoracic strain, degenerative disc disease and intervertebral disc syndrome of the cervical spine, right leg radiculopathy involving the sciatic nerve, right leg radiculopathy involving the femoral nerve, bowel disability
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- July 9, 2025
- Citation
- 25009013
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,455 · 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 25009013.
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 Veteran's claims for service connection on multiple conditions are being remanded due to a duty to assist error regarding SSA disability benefit records.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claim for service connection of a gastrointestinal disability due to procedural issues and will consider any additional evidence provided by the RO.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a duty-to-assist error, and will consider whether the Veteran's gastrointestinal disability is related to his service or service-connected PTSD.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for gastrointestinal disability, left foot disability, and right foot disability due to deficiencies in the VA medical opinions provided. The appellant's lay statements will be considered along with the existing evidence.
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