VA Disability for Crohn’s Disease

After military discharge, it’s hard enough for veterans to get back to everyday life with their families, friends, and jobs depending on them. If military service causes or aggravates a lifelong condition like Crohn’s disease, it can be even more difficult to live a normal life. If you’re struggling with abdominal cramps, urgent bowel movements, or diarrhea from service-connected Crohn’s disease, you may be eligible for a Crohn’s disease VA rating.  

In this article, we explain what Crohn’s disease is, what factors can contribute to developing Crohn’s, and how you can earn VA disability for Crohn’s disease. 

What is Crohn’s disease?

Crohn’s disease is a chronic type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that can cause any part of your digestive tract to become swollen and irritated. People with Crohn’s disease typically experience periodic “flare-ups” of their symptoms and other periods of remission in which they may not notice any symptoms. 

Depending on how severe your Crohn’s is and where the disease is located along the gastrointestinal (GI)  tract, you may experience some of these symptoms and complications:

• Abdominal pain
• Chronic diarrhea
• A feeling of fullness
• Fever
• Blood in your stool
• Loss of appetite
• Weight loss
• Anal fissures
• Anal fistulas
• Rectal bleeding

Although Crohn’s is located in the GI tract, it can cause health issues and complications that go beyond the intestine, such as low energy, mouth sores, night sweats, kidney conditions, and more. 

Unfortunately, there is no cure for Crohn’s disease, but treatment is available to help reduce or possibly eliminate your symptoms. For veterans with Crohn’s, VA disability compensation could be available. Below we describe how the VA rates Crohn’s disease, and how you can connect your time in the military to your condition.  

Crohn’s disease in veterans

The prevalence of Crohn’s disease within the U.S. military population is estimated to be 146 out of every 100,000 individuals. While the exact cause of Crohn’s disease is unknown, medical professionals know that several factors play a role in its development:

• Environmental factors like nutrition, smoking, infections, and exposure to burn pits
• Genetic factors that lead to a dysfunctional relationship between the intestinal microbiome and the immune system

You may be more likely to develop Crohn’s disease if:

• You are 30 years of age or younger
• You are white, especially if you are of Eastern European (Ashkenazi) Jewish descent
• Someone in your immediate family has the disease
• You smoke cigarettes

Service connecting Crohn’s disease

Since the cause of the disease is difficult to pin down, many veterans who earn a Crohn’s disease VA rating do so because they can prove they had symptoms while they were enlisted. 

If you can submit evidence of repeated diarrhea, constipation, or abdominal pain, you could have a better chance of winning your case. Remember, proving a service connection doesn’t always mean proof that your service caused it. You can also get VA disability by proving that the condition was aggravated while you were enlisted.

Service treatment records are an important piece of medical evidence veterans should submit to the VA to prove service connection. These records can help describe your Crohn’s symptoms and their severity. If you self-reported symptoms such as diarrhea and blood in your stool during military service, this can help prove when your condition began, even if you weren’t formally diagnosed until after discharge. 

Crohn’s disease VA rating

Your Crohn’s disease VA rating will depend on what symptoms you’re experiencing and how severe they are. The VA rates Crohn’s disease using diagnostic code 7326. Crohn’s disease rates at 10%, 30%, 60%, or 100% disabling as described below. 

Description	VA Rating	Monthly payment (vet only)
Severe inflammatory bowel disease that is unresponsive to treatment; and requires hospitalization at least once per year; and results in either an inability to work or is characterized by recurrent abdominal pain associated with at least two of the following: (1) six or more episodes per day of diarrhea, (2) six or more episodes per day of rectal bleeding, (3) recurrent episodes of rectal incontinence, or (4) recurrent abdominal distension	100%	$3,737.85
Moderate inflammatory bowel disease that is managed on an outpatient basis with immunosuppressants or other biologic agents; and is characterized by recurrent abdominal pain, four to five daily episodes of diarrhea; and intermittent signs of toxicity such as fever, tachycardia, or anemia	60%	$1,3161.88
Mild to moderate inflammatory bowel disease that is managed with oral and topical agents (other than immunosuppressants or other biologic agents); and is characterized by recurrent abdominal pain with three or less daily episodes of diarrhea and minimal signs of toxicity such as fever, tachycardia, or anemia	30%	$524.31
Minimal to mild symptomatic inflammatory bowel disease that is managed with oral or topical agents (other than immunosuppressants or other biologic agents); and is characterized by recurrent abdominal pain with three or less daily episodes of diarrhea and no signs of systemic toxicity	10%	$171.23

Crohn’s disease secondary conditions

Crohn’s disease is known to lead to other potentially disabling conditions. One way to get a service connection for a condition that resulted from service-connected Crohn’s disease is to file a claim for a secondary service connection. 

Below we highlight a few conditions that are commonly linked to Crohn’s disease.

Crohn’s disease and psoriasis

There is a strong connection between psoriasis, a chronic skin disease, and inflammatory bowel diseases like ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s. In fact, the prevalence of IBD is higher in those living with psoriasis than those who aren’t. Researchers believe that Crohn’s and psoriasis have a bidirectional relationship because both diseases can be caused by the immune system attacking healthy cells. 

Most commonly, patients develop psoriasis first, and Crohn’s disease later. If you’re a veteran with psoriasis that was caused by exposure to Agent Orange or other chemicals during military service, and you later developed Crohn’s disease, you could be eligible for a Crohn’s disease VA rating secondary to psoriasis. 

Crohn’s disease and colorectal cancer

Crohn’s disease is an autoimmune disease that causes the body to attack its own tissue, leading to lifelong damage to the GI tract. This damage causes the GI tract to be inflamed and in need of constant repair and replenishment. 

Over time, this continuous process of cell replacement can result in colorectal cancer, putting patients with Crohn’s disease at a higher risk of developing colorectal cancer than the general population. 

Crohn’s disease and alcoholism

Alcoholism is a serious issue for veterans. The constant anxiety of combat, witnessing the death of a fellow service member, or being a victim of military sexual trauma (MST) could result in service-connected mental health conditions, like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). After discharge, veterans may use alcohol as a coping mechanism.

Alcohol consumption has been linked to aggravating Crohn’s disease symptoms; but can alcoholism actually cause Crohn’s disease? The answer is, it could. Overconsumption of alcohol can compromise gut health, potentially making people with an alcohol addiction more prone to developing Crohn’s disease. 

Crohn’s disease and joint pain 

Veterans could be granted service connection for joint pain secondary to their service-connected Crohn’s disease. 

Inflammation of joints, or arthritis, is the most common complication of Crohn’s disease outside of the GI tract and may affect as many as 30% of people living with Crohn’s disease. 

Although the exact link between Crohn’s disease and joint pain is unknown, doctors believe a combination of genetic factors and overactive inflammatory cells may be potential causes.

Mental health and Crohn’s disease

Not only can Crohn’s disease negatively impact your physical well-being, but it can also take a toll on your mental health because the stress of dealing with complicated IBD symptoms on a daily basis fuels mental health issues. 

Compared to the general population, people diagnosed with IBD are two to three times more likely to experience depression and anxiety. Researchers found that among 60,086 patients with IBD in the Veterans Health Administration database, the prevalence of anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder more than tripled between 2001 and 2015. 

TDIU for Crohn’s disease

Crohn’s disease is serious, and can substantially impact your well-being and ability to work and earn an income. If you’re a veteran with a VA rating for Crohn’s disease of less than 100% and you are unable to hold gainful employment, you may be eligible for total disability based on individual unemployability (TDIU).

TDIU is reserved for veterans who did not earn a 100% rating, but whose symptoms make it impossible to work. Veterans with Crohn’s disease may require frequent bathroom breaks, feel uncomfortable in long meetings due to fear of needing to visit the bathroom or have trouble focusing on work due to pain from abdominal cramps.

TDIU pays at the same monthly rate as a 100% disability rating, without the requirement of having a 100% rating. 

To be eligible for schedular TDIU, veterans must have at least one service-connected disability rated at least 60% OR two or more service-connected disabilities, with one condition rated at least 40% and a combined rating of at least 70%.

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How our VA disability lawyers can help

The application and claims process can be lengthy and frustrating, so you may want to consider hiring an attorney. The VA-accredited attorneys at Woods and Woods can help you navigate the confusing process of deadlines, evidence, and paperwork so you can get the Crohn’s disease VA rating you deserve. 

Call us to talk about your claim today. Legal consultations are always free.

Talk to Us About Your Claim: 
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