Hernia Claims Guide
A hernia is an organ or tissue pushing through a weak spot in the muscle wall, most often in the groin. For veterans, years of heavy lifting make them common, and many are first repaired in service. The rating surprises people: a hernia that was fixed and stayed fixed often rates 0 percent, while a hernia that keeps coming back or cannot be supported rates much higher. This guide explains how DC 7338 works, the bilateral add-on, and why hiatal hernia is a different animal.
What a Hernia Claim Covers
The most-claimed hernia is the inguinal (groin) hernia, diagnostic code 7338, under the digestive schedule (see 38 CFR § 4.114). Femoral, ventral, and umbilical hernias are rated on their own related codes using a similar recurrence-and-support test.
How It Gets Service Connected
- Direct. A hernia that appeared in service, or was repaired in service, from the heavy lifting, straining, and load-bearing of military duty, with a current diagnosis or documented residuals.
- Residuals of an in-service repair. Even if the original hernia was fixed in service, a later recurrence, or lasting pain, numbness, or weakness at the surgical site, can be service-connected as a residual.
- Secondary. A hernia caused or worsened by another service-connected condition, for example chronic straining from a bowel condition or a chronic cough. See secondary conditions.
Across published DC 7338 decisions, here is how often the Board granted by the legal theory the claim was argued on:
Common Secondary Conditions
A hernia connects to other claims in both directions, through the strain that causes it and the surgery that treats it. Each bar below is the Board's grant rate for DC 7338 in that pairing, with the number of decisions under it. They describe the published record across many veterans, not a prediction about any one claim.
Conditions linked as causing a hernia (hernia as the secondary)
Claims where the hernia was argued as secondary to an already service-connected condition, most often chronic straining from a bowel condition or a chronic cough:
Conditions a hernia is linked to causing (hernia as the primary)
Conditions veterans have claimed as caused or aggravated by a service-connected hernia or its repair:
How the VA Rates a Hernia (DC 7338)
The rating turns on three things: whether the hernia has come back after surgery (recurrence), whether it can be pushed back in (reducible), and whether a truss or belt controls it (support). A well-repaired hernia rates low; a recurrent one that cannot be supported rates high.
| Rating | Inguinal hernia |
|---|---|
| 60% | Large, postoperative, recurrent, not well supported under ordinary conditions and not readily reducible, considered inoperable |
| 30% | Small, postoperative recurrent, or unoperated and irremediable, not well supported by a truss or not readily reducible |
| 10% | Postoperative recurrent, readily reducible and well supported by a truss or belt |
| 0% | Not operated but remediable, or small and reducible without a true protrusion |
- What the VA measures at your C&P exam
- Evidence that has won at the Board
- Inside the rater's playbook: grant, denial, and remand rates
- Secondary condition map
Evidence That Wins
- Surgical and treatment records showing the original hernia, any repair, and any recurrence, this is what the recurrence-based rating is built from.
- A current exam documenting whether the hernia is present, reducible, and supported by a truss, and whether it is one side or both.
- Records of residual symptoms after repair, pain, numbness, or weakness at the site, which can support service connection even when the hernia itself is fixed.
- A nexus opinion tying the hernia or its residuals to service, or to another service-connected condition. See nexus letters.
- The Hernias DBQ, which records the type, side, recurrence, and support the rating depends on. See the DBQ guide.
Common Mistakes
The same handful of missteps account for most lost or under-rated hernia claims. Among the Board's classified service-connection denials for hernia, here is what claims most often fell short on:
- Assuming a repaired hernia is worthless. A fixed hernia can rate 0 percent, but recurrence or lasting pain, numbness, and weakness at the site can still be service-connected and rated.
- Not documenting recurrence and support. The rating turns on whether the hernia came back and whether a truss controls it. If the exam does not record these, it lands on the wrong row.
- Claiming one side when both are affected. Bilateral hernias get the more disabling rating plus a 10 percent add-on. Claim it as bilateral.
- Filing a hiatal hernia under the hernia codes. Hiatal hernia is rated as reflux under the GERD and esophagus criteria, not as a hernia. Using the wrong framework loses the claim.
- Missing the residuals path. When the original repair was in service, later problems at the site are residuals that can be service-connected even years afterward.
Frequently Asked Questions
My hernia was fixed. Can I still get a rating?
What gets a hernia to a higher rating?
Is a hiatal hernia rated the same way?
I have hernias on both sides. How does that work?
My hernia was repaired in service years ago. Is it too late?
Related Tools and Guides
Sources: 38 CFR 4.114, digestive ratings · CCK Law, hernia · Hill & Ponton, hernia. Educational only, not legal advice, and not a prediction of any individual claim. Rating criteria change; confirm current details in 38 CFR 4.114. For help with your claim, find a VA-accredited representative.