Liver disease (hepatitis, cirrhosis) decisions — 2012

The Veteran's claims for hepatitis B and HTLV are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining service treatment records from Tripler Army Hospital and VA treatment records.

The Board has determined that a VA examination is necessary to determine the etiology of the Veteran's hepatitis B, sciatica, sleep apnea, diabetes mellitus, type II, hypertension, and psychiatric disorder (depression).

The Board has determined that the Veteran's cause of death, liver cancer due to cirrhosis of the liver, is at least as likely as not related to his herbicide exposure during service. As such, the claim for service connection for the cause of death is granted.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of right ear sensorineural hearing loss or hepatitis C, and therefore, service connection for these conditions is denied.

The Board has granted service connection for hepatitis and a gastrointestinal disorder, including gastritis, esophagitis, and gastroesophageal reflux disease with hiatal hernia. The Veteran's claims were previously denied due to lack of evidence of current disabilities or their relationship to service.

The Veteran's claim for increased evaluations of his service-connected gastrointestinal disability, consisting of hepatitis B, hiatal hernia and GERD, was denied. The Board found that the primary component of this disability did not meet the criteria for a higher evaluation.

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

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claims for service connection for a back disability, neck and shoulder disabilities, and hepatitis C. The evidence submitted since the final decisions is new and material, raising a reasonable possibility of substantiating these claims.

The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional medical records and opinions.

The Board denied the Veteran's request to reopen his claim of service connection for hepatitis C, finding that new and material evidence had not been received.

The Board has determined that hepatitis C was incurred in service and granted the Veteran's claim for service connection. The issue of major depressive disorder, claimed as secondary to hepatitis C, is remanded.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for hepatitis C is being remanded due to the need to obtain additional records from SSA and provide a supplemental opinion regarding the relationship between his hepatitis C and in-service injections.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to newly associated VA medical records and for obtaining updated VA opinions regarding the cause of the Veteran's death.

The Veteran's hepatitis C is not service-connected as it did not manifest during her period of active duty and there is no evidence linking the condition to a risk factor or incident of service. The psychiatric disorder claim has been denied due to lack of credible evidence establishing continuity of symptomatology since service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's death was caused by liver cirrhosis due to schistosomiasis, which had onset in service and is considered a new condition. As such, the claim of service connection for cause of death is granted.

The Veteran's appeals for service connection for asbestos exposure and Hepatitis B and C were granted. The claims for a back disorder, residuals of a collapsed lung, and an increased rating claim for the fibula disability are still pending.

The Veteran's hepatitis clearly and unmistakably pre-existed service, and there is no evidence of aggravation during service. Therefore, the claim for service connection for hepatitis C is denied.

The Board denied service connection for hepatitis C and cirrhosis of the liver as there was no evidence showing these conditions were incurred in or related to military service.

The Veteran's TDIU was granted retroactively effective from January 26, 2002. The earliest possible effective date for the grant of this TDIU is when he filed his underlying claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus and Hepatitis C.

The Board found that the Veteran's current diagnosis of hepatitis C is not related to his military service and denied his claim for service connection.