Gastrointestinal Diseases and VA Disability Compensation
CCK Law: Our Vital Role in Veterans Law
Gastrointestinal (GI) diseases are those that involve the organs of the digestive tract and accessory digestive organs, and include disorders like constipation, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), colitis, and others. Many veterans develop diseases like these as a result of their military service, which then can lead to debilitating discomfort, pain, and worsening health conditions.
Thankfully, veterans can earn a VA gastrointestinal rating and receive monthly compensation if their GI disorder is determined to be service connected. This article will explore the various GI disorders that veterans suffer from, as well as the steps you can take to prove your condition is related to your military service.
Highlights of this article include:
- Descriptions of GI diseases that veterans frequently suffer from
- How to establish service connection for your GI disorder
- The standards by which VA may rate the severity of your disorder
- And more
What Are Gastrointestinal Diseases?
Gastrointestinal diseases affect any organ or body part within the digestive tract, including the small and large intestines, gallbladder, stomach, esophagus, rectum, liver, and pancreas, among others. Often, these diseases involve some level of inflammation, corrosion, plaque buildup, infection, bleeding, or other serious medical conditions.
Some GI diseases that most frequently affect veterans include:
- Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) – a common disorder that leads to stomach pain, gas, cramping, constipation, and other symptoms. IBS can be brought on by various factors, including infection and even stress.
- Functional dyspepsia – a disorder that causes stomach aches, bloating, upper abdominal pain, feelings of indigestion, and more.
- Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) – a condition involving frequent acid reflux, heartburn, chest pain, and trouble swallowing.
- Peptic ulcer disease – a disease characterized by the development of open sores (ulcers) mostly in the stomach and duodenum. Symptoms include burning pain after eating, as well as indigestion.
- Gastrointestinal cancer – various cancers that attack the GI tract, including esophageal cancer, stomach cancer, and colon cancer, among others. These cancers can be triggered by other GI disorders like GERD, peptic ulcer disease, and more.
How to Establish Service Connection for Gastrointestinal Diseases
Veterans who experience gastrointestinal diseases may be entitled to service-connected compensation if their condition is related to their time in service. Importantly, there are several types of service connection that veterans can pursue.
Direct Service Connection for Gastrointestinal Disorders
Generally speaking, direct service connection is the most common avenue to receiving VA disability benefits. Entitlement to direct service connection requires veterans to provide evidence of the following:
- A current, diagnosed gastrointestinal disease;
- An in-service event, injury, or illness; and
- A medical nexus linking their current condition to the in-service occurrence.
One common in-service event associated with gastrointestinal diseases involves exposure to environmental toxins. Regardless of the specific cause, a medical nexus is extremely important as it ties the first two elements of service connection together.
Presumptive Service Connection for Gastrointestinal Disorders
Presumptive service connection removes the need for a veteran to provide a nexus between their in-service event and their current disability. This means that veterans do not need to submit evidence proving that their condition was caused by service, because the presumption provides the nexus.
Some presumptions for gastrointestinal disorders include:
- Prisoners of War: Former prisoners of war (POWs) who were captive for 30 days or more can receive presumptive service connection for certain digestive disorders, including peptic ulcer disease, chronic dysentery, irritable bowel syndrome, and cirrhosis of the liver.
- Camp Lejeune Presumption: VA established a presumption for veterans who served at Camp Lejeune for 30 cumulative days between August 1, 1953, and December 31, 1987, due to veterans’ exposure to contaminated drinking water on the base. The gastrointestinal disease liver cancer is among the presumptive conditions eligible for presumptive service connection for veterans stationed at Camp Lejeune.
- Gulf War (PGW) Presumptions (38 CFR § 3.317): Veterans with qualifying service any time from August 1990 through the present day can receive presumptive service connection for functional gastrointestinal disorders tied to their time in the Gulf War.
Notably, for veterans who served in the Gulf War, “functional GI disorders” are defined by IFFGD as “disorders of gut-brain interaction” and are “classified by GI symptoms related to any combination of the following: motility disturbance, visceral hypersensitivity, altered mucosal and immune function, altered gut microbiota, and altered central nervous system (CNS) processing.”
Common functional gastrointestinal disorders like irritable bowel syndrome, functional constipation, functional diarrhea, and functional dyspepsia may qualify for service connection on a presumptive basis.
However, other gastrointestinal conditions, such as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), ulcers, or hernias, are not included under this category of gastrointestinal disorders. Therefore, service connection for these conditions must be established on a direct or secondary basis.
Secondary Service Connection for Gastrointestinal Disorders
To establish secondary service connection, veterans must show that an already service-connected condition caused a subsequent condition. If VA agrees that an already service-connected condition led to the development of a secondary condition, then that secondary condition should be subject to compensation.
For example, say a veteran is service connected for anxiety, and as a result of that condition, they develop irritable bowel syndrome. Here, their irritable bowel syndrome should be service connected on a secondary basis.
Service Connection Based on Aggravation
Service connection based on aggravation is another avenue to receiving VA disability benefits. This type of service connection occurs when a veteran enters service with an existing condition, but that condition worsens as a result of service. For example, if a veteran has GERD prior to joining the military, but it is significantly worse following service, they may be entitled to service connection based on aggravation.
What Evidence Supports Service Connection and High Ratings for Gastrointestinal Disorders?
Submitting the right kinds of evidence can be key to winning a VA claim. After all, VA applies different levels of importance to evidence depending on how relevant it is to the case. While evidence like lay statements may still be beneficial to a veteran’s claim, they may not carry the same weight as service records or medical treatment records.
Official Service or Treatment Records
VA tends to apply the most weight to official documentation from a veteran’s time in service or treatment records supplied by a medical practitioner after discharge. While other evidence can still be important, it is these records that often form the foundation of a disability claim.
This evidence can include documents like:
- Service Medical Records (SMRs)
- Personnel Records
- DD214 (Certificate of Discharge)
- VA Medical Records
- Private Medical Records
- Medical Opinions
Additionally, VA may have a veteran undergo a Compensation & Pension exam to get a firsthand look at how their symptoms affect their quality of life.
Compensation & Pension Examinations for Gastrointestinal Disease
VA will sometimes ask veterans to submit to a typical procedure for a gastrointestinal disorder, such as a colonoscopy or an endoscopy. However, this does not happen very often. Typically, VA schedules veterans for a Compensation & Pension examination (C&P exam), which is much less invasive.
During the exam, a VA examiner will ask questions to determine the symptoms and severity of the veteran’s gastrointestinal disease. For example, the examiner may ask about weight loss, the frequency of bowel movements, and any other symptoms they are experiencing.
Veterans are allowed to, and encouraged to, challenge C&P exams that they feel are inadequate or fail to capture the severity of their condition. To do so, they can go to a physician outside of VA and supplement the record with a private medical opinion to address and contradict the VA examiner’s opinion. Veterans should also point out the ways in which the C&P exam is inadequate.
Using Lay Evidence for Claims for Gastrointestinal Conditions
One type of evidence veterans often overlook when submitting a claim to VA is lay evidence. Lay evidence includes things like statements from the veteran, their family members, or their friends, detailing the severity of their gastrointestinal condition. Again, the diagnostic codes are based on severity and related to symptoms that veterans are competent to observe, describe, and explain. Therefore, lay evidence can help VA gather more information about a veteran’s full disability picture.
How Does VA Rate Gastrointestinal Diseases?
If VA grants a finding of service connection, it will then assign a rating to the veteran’s condition.
VA rates gastrointestinal diseases under 38 CFR § 4.114, Schedule of Ratings for the Digestive System. Here, VA will compare the veteran’s symptomatology to that which is listed in the rating criteria in order to assign a disability evaluation. This evaluation can range from 0 to 100 percent depending on the veteran’s specific GI condition and the severity of their symptoms.
For instance, if a veteran suffers from gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), their symptoms would fall under Diagnostic Code 7206, and their rating could be any of the following:
- 80 percent – Severe, recurrent symptoms characterized by dysphagia as well as aspiration, undernutrition, or significant weight loss.
- 50 percent – Recurrent symptoms characterized by dysphagia and requiring some combination of dilatation, steroid use, or esophageal stent placement to treat.
- 30 percent – Recurrent symptoms that cause dysphagia and which require dilatation no more than twice a year to treat.
- 10 percent – Moderate symptoms that require daily medication to control dysphagia.
- 0 percent – A lack of daily symptoms, and no need for medication.
Note that these specific ratings apply only to GERD. If you want to determine how VA will rate your GI condition, then consult the Schedule of Ratings and find the diagnostic code that corresponds to your disorder.
Combined Ratings and “VA Math”
It is common for veterans to suffer from multiple service-connected disorders at the same time, each with their own percentage ratings. In situations like this, VA will not simply add the various percentage ratings together to calculate a veteran’s total rating. Instead, they use a process called “VA math” to determine a veteran’s final, combined rating from multiple disabilities.
The 2025 VA Disability Calculator from CCK Law will help you estimate your combined rating from VA. The page also explains how VA calculates ratings from multiple disabilities.
Analogous Ratings for Gastrointestinal Diseases
Not every type of condition that a veteran may experience is captured by a diagnostic code. If a veteran has a condition that does not have its own specific diagnostic code, VA will assign an analogous rating. Generally speaking, analogous ratings are based on what condition most closely matches the overall symptoms or treatment of the disability that VA is trying to rate.
VA Compensation for Gastrointestinal Conditions
Based on how high a veteran’s VA rating is for their digestive condition, they will receive a corresponding amount of compensation from VA every month. The higher the rating, the higher the payments from VA. Consult the table below to learn what the standard payment rates are for different percentage ratings.
As of 2025, the VA disability rate benefit amounts are as follows:
- 0 percent disability rating: $0.00 per month
- 10 percent disability rating: $175.51 per month
- 20 percent disability rating: $346.95 per month
- 30 percent disability rating: $537.42 per month
- 40 percent disability rating: $774.16 per month
- 50 percent disability rating: $1,102.04 per month
- 60 percent disability rating: $1,395.93 per month
- 70 percent disability rating: $1,759.19 per month
- 80 percent disability rating: $2,044.89 per month
- 90 percent disability rating: $2,297.96 per month
- 100 percent disability rating: $3,831.30 per month
Individual Unemployability (TDIU) for Gastrointestinal Claims
If a veteran’s service-connected gastrointestinal disease prevents them from obtaining and maintaining substantially gainful employment, they may be eligible for total disability based on individual unemployability (TDIU). Essentially, TDIU allows veterans who are not rated as 100 percent disabled to be compensated as if they were 100 percent disabled.
For example, if your gastrointestinal disease forces you to go to the bathroom several times a day, this could prevent you from being able to sit at your desk and do your job. In this case, you can submit VA Form 21-8940, Veteran’s Application for Increased Compensation Based on Unemployability, along with any other evidence demonstrating that you are unable to work due to your service-connected conditions.
Need Help Appealing an Unfavorable Decision from VA?
When adjudicating claims for gastrointestinal conditions, VA will often make mistakes, from overlooking evidence to underrating conditions. Ratings can also become outdated if your disability worsens or leads to secondary conditions. Fortunately, you do have options.
To file your increased rating claim or appeal and start your journey toward claiming the benefits you deserve, consider reaching out to CCK Law today. Our firm has the most combined experience of any veterans law firm in the country, and we have the resources to give your case the attention it deserves. Call (800) 544-9144 or contact us online for a free case evaluation.
