Hepatitis C decisions — 2017

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's hepatitis C. The claim will be returned for further development.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for hypertension and hepatitis C due to incomplete development of medical records, particularly from the Dallas VA Medical Center. The claims are now pending again with the AOJ.

The Veteran's hearing loss is not service-connected as it did not manifest during or as a result of his military service.,The Veteran's current hepatitis C (HCV) was incurred during his military service.

The Veteran's claim for an initial compensable rating for hepatitis C was denied. The Board also dismissed the TDIU claim as moot due to his combined 100 percent schedular rating.

The Board found that the Veteran has a current diagnosis of hepatitis C and determined that it was not incurred or aggravated during service, but rather is more likely due to other risk factors such as drug use outside of his period of service. The claim for bilateral hearing loss remains pending.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities meet the schedular requirement for a TDIU and are reasonably shown to render him unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation since October 16, 2012.

The Board has reopened the previously denied claims for service connection for hepatitis C, PTSD, and MRSA. The new evidence submitted since the August 2007 rating decision is sufficient to reopen these claims.

The Veteran has withdrawn his appeal concerning the claims for service connection for hepatitis C and a compensable rating for tinea pedis. The Board does not have jurisdiction to further consider these claims.

The Board found that new evidence did not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claims for hepatitis C, acquired psychiatric disorder, eye condition, hypertension, diabetes mellitus type 2, and degenerative arthritis of the left shoulder. The Veteran's claims were denied as there was no evidence showing these conditions were incurred in or aggravated by service.

The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to the need to obtain additional medical records and provide her with a VA examination.

The Board finds that the Veteran's IV drug use is secondary to his service-connected PTSD and grants service connection for this condition.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's hepatitis C, bilateral shoulder disability (arthritis), and bilateral knee disability (arthritis) are not related to his active service. The evidence does not support a finding of in-service injury or disease for any of these conditions.

The Veteran's appeal has been withdrawn, and the case is dismissed.

The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and major depressive disorder, is not service-connected.,Hepatitis C was not contracted during service or due to a service-connected condition. The Veteran's current hepatitis C is more likely related to his intranasal cocaine use in the late 1990s.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to a VLJ no longer being employed by the Board. The Appellant is requested to schedule a video conference hearing before the Board at her local RO.

The Board finds that hepatitis C is related to service, and grants the Veteran's claim for service connection.

The Veteran's duodenal ulcer with hepatitis B surface antigen positivity is currently rated as 40 percent disabling, and his hepatitis C is not compensably disabling. The Board finds that neither condition warrants a higher rating.

The Veteran's hepatitis C was rated at 20 percent prior to May 8, 2014, based on daily fatigue, malaise, nausea, vomiting, arthralgia, and right upper quadrant pain with minor weight loss.

The Veteran's appeal is granted, with a disability rating of 20 percent for plantar calluses effective February 20, 2015. Service connection for heart condition and diabetes mellitus are also granted as due to herbicide exposure.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's hepatitis C did not originate in service and is not related to disease or injury during active service. Therefore, the claim for service connection for hepatitis C is denied.