Digestive System§ 4.114Updated
Rating criteria

VA Diagnostic Code 7317Gallbladder, injury of

Rated under § 4.114. No rating levels have been extracted for this code yet — use the official source.

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In short

Summary

Rate as adhesions of the peritoneum due to surgery, trauma, disease, or infection (DC 7301); or chronic gallbladder and biliary tract disease (DC 7314), or cholecystectomy (gallbladder removal), complications of (such as strictures and biliary leaks) (DC 7318), depending on the predominant disability.

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What each rating requires

The VA assigns the highest level your evidence actually supports. Read up the stack until your records stop matching.

No rating levels extracted yet

This code has no itemised criteria in our copy of the schedule. Use the official source link for the controlling text.

From the schedule

Notes on this code

These notes are part of the regulation. They change how the levels above are applied.

  • Note: When rating gallbladder injuries analogous to DC 7301, a finding of adhesions is not necessary.

VA Disability Rating: Gallbladder, Injury of (Diagnostic Code 7317)

Understanding Gallbladder Injury Ratings

An injury of the gallbladder is a condition within the Digestive System and is evaluated by the VA under Diagnostic Code 7317, found in § 4.114 of the VA's rating schedule.

What This Condition Involves

A gallbladder injury can result from surgery, trauma, disease, or infection. Because the effects of a gallbladder injury can vary from person to person, the VA does not assign a single fixed rating formula under Diagnostic Code 7317. Instead, the condition is rated based on the disability that most closely reflects your predominant symptoms.

How the VA Rates This Condition

Rather than using its own dedicated rating scale, a gallbladder injury is rated by analogy to the diagnostic code that best matches the predominant disability. The VA looks at how the injury primarily affects you and applies one of the following:

  • Adhesions of the peritoneum due to surgery, trauma, disease, or infection — rated under Diagnostic Code 7301.
  • Chronic gallbladder and biliary tract disease — rated under Diagnostic Code 7314.
  • Complications of cholecystectomy (gallbladder removal), such as strictures and biliary leaks — rated under Diagnostic Code 7318.

The specific code applied depends on which of these best represents your predominant disability.

What the VA Looks For

  • The VA evaluates the predominant disability resulting from the gallbladder injury to determine which analogous diagnostic code applies.
  • Note: When rating a gallbladder injury analogous to Diagnostic Code 7301 (adhesions of the peritoneum), a finding of adhesions is not necessary.

This information is drawn directly from the VA rating schedule for Diagnostic Code 7317 under § 4.114. Individual evaluations depend on your specific medical evidence and circumstances.

These criteria are a rendering of § 4.114, diagnostic code 7317. The official version is the one that governs your rating.

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What next

How to claim this

Knowing the criteria is the first half. Getting your file to show them is the second.

  1. Find your level in the stack

    Read each rung against what your medical records already say. The level your records document today is the one the VA can support today.

  2. Name the gap

    Look at the rung above yours and write down exactly what it asks for that your file does not show yet — a diagnosis, a measurement, a prescribed brace, a doctor’s opinion linking it to service.

  3. Claim it by code

    File under diagnostic code 7317 and attach the evidence for the level you are asking for. Other Digestive System codes may cover your secondary conditions.

Find out which rating your evidence supports.

Six reads your records against these exact criteria and tells you what the VA is still missing.

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