Hepatitis C decisions — 2009

The Board has granted a 30 percent disability rating for the Veteran's service-connected right shoulder dislocation residuals and has found that hepatitis C is related to military service. The claims are denied as there is no evidence of an increased disability rating or new and material evidence.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for hepatitis C, back disability, and neck disability due to a lack of competent medical evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The Board is remanding the case to obtain missing service treatment records and personnel records, including clinical records from Selfridge Air Force Base following a car accident in August 1966. The Veteran's hepatitis C diagnosis will also be reviewed for its onset during active service or related to any in-service disease, event, or injury.

The Veteran's service-connected diabetes mellitus, type II, associated with herbicide exposure, does not prevent him from securing and following any form of substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's disability picture reasonably encompasses a variety of significant multi-system disabilities that render him more often than not unable to safely perform virtually all activities of daily living without regular assistance from another person, warranting the grant of SMP benefits based on the need for regular aid and attendance.

The Veteran's service-connected Hepatitis C did not render him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment, and therefore his claim for a TDIU is denied.

The Board has determined that hepatitis C is at least as likely as not contracted via a blood transfusion during surgery for a service-connected low back disability, and thus grants the Veteran's claim for service connection.

The Veteran's nonservice-connected disabilities include degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, moderate L5 radiculopathy, left S1 radiculopathy, and hepatitis C. His combined disability rating is 40 percent. The Board found that his disorders fail to meet the minimum schedular rating for consideration of a nonservice-connected pension.

The Veteran's appeal for service connection for hepatitis C was dismissed due to his death.

The Veteran's claims for hepatitis C and flat feet, claimed as foot pain, are being remanded due to the need for additional development of his service records.

The Board has dismissed the Veteran's claim of clear and unmistakable error (CUE) in the October 2002 rating decision that denied service connection for hepatitis C, as the Veteran did not plead his arguments with specificity required by Fugo v. Brown.

The Board found that the Veteran's hepatitis C was not incurred or aggravated during his military service and denied his claim for service connection.

The Board finds that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of hepatitis C or residuals of any type of hepatitis, and thus service connection for these conditions is denied.

The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete service records and will seek to verify the Veteran's complete periods of active duty, active duty for training, and inactive duty with the Army Reserve. The claims for service connection for chronic hepatitis C and chronic hypertension will be reconsidered.

The Veteran's claims of entitlement to service connection for hepatitis C and an initial noncompensable rating for PTSD were denied. The Veteran was subsequently awarded service connection for hepatitis C.

The Veteran's hepatitis C is characterized by fatigue with headaches, arthralgias, pruritus, and malaise. The Board found that the schedular criteria for a rating in excess of 10 percent for hepatitis C have not been met.

The Veteran requested to withdraw their appeal, and the Board has dismissed it.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's hepatitis C is related to his active duty service, warranting service connection.

The Board has determined that hepatitis C was incurred in active service and granted the veteran's claim for service connection.

The Board found that there is no competent evidence of a nexus between the post-service diagnosis of hepatitis C and an incident in service, thus denying the claim for service connection.