Many veal calves arrive at growing facilities with inadequate immunity, leaving them susceptible to diseases including diarrhea and navel inflammation. Observing calf behavior, such as lying behavior, can be used as a tool to understand calf health. The aim was to investigate the effect of navel inflammation and diarrhea on lying behavior in veal calves. A total of 125 calves from 3 cohorts were included in the study. Calves were housed individually on slatted flooring (Tenderfoot) in 3 rooms of a mechanically ventilated barn. On d 4 after arrival, calves were fitted with 3D accelerometers (HOBO Pendant Data Loggers) on their hind legs to continuously measure lying time, number of lying bouts, and lying bout duration. Health exams were conducted twice weekly for 2 wk starting on the day after arrival. Exams included a rectal temperature, a navel score (0 = normal, 1 = mildly inflamed, 2 = moderately inflamed, 3 = severely inflamed), and a fecal score (0 = normal, 1 = semi-formed, 2 = loose, 3 = watery). Calves were considered to have “navel inflammation” (n = 22) or “diarrhea” (n = 15) if they scored ≥2 during at least 3 of the 4 health exams. “Normal” calves (n = 18) had no signs of illness and rectal temperatures <39.4°C during 3 of the 4 health exams. Week 1 included d 4 to 9, and wk 2 included d 9 to 14. Data were analyzed using a repeated measures ANOVA; the model included cohort, health status (normal, navel inflammation or diarrhea), week (1 or 2) and a health × week interaction. There was an effect of health status on lying time (P = 0.03), whereby normal calves spent more time lying (18.9 ± 0.2 h/d) compared with calves with inflamed navels (18.0 ± 0.2; P = 0.01) and diarrhea (18.1 ± 0.2; P = 0.05). There was no effect of health status on the number of lying bouts per day (P = 0.62), nor on the duration of lying bouts (P = 0.36). There were no health × week interactions. Results indicate that veal calves with navel inflammation and diarrhea may be less comfortable than calves without these conditions. Veal producers should consider changing their facilities to create more comfortable lying environments to help calves better cope with illness.