The Board found that new and material evidence had been submitted to reopen the veteran's claim for service connection for hepatitis, but denied the claim as his hepatitis was not incurred in service.
The deciding factor: The VA medical records showed elevated liver enzymes during the veteran's hospitalization at Bethesda Naval Hospital in 1970, which were consistent with hepatitis. However, the examiner concluded that it was reasonable to assume these tests represented the beginning of the veteran's disease rather than an active service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic active hepatitis
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- September 26, 2001
- Citation
- 0123471
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0123471.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's initial disability rating for scars, status post liver transplant, is granted at a 20 percent level. The claim for an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection to status post liver transplant, chronic active hepatitis with active nodular cirrhosis, now cryptogenic cirrhosis, is dismissed.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the petition to reopen the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death due to lack of new and material evidence, concluding that the appellant's statements do not provide a credible medical opinion linking the Veteran's cause of death to his military service or herbicide exposure.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's death was due to his service-connected liver cirrhosis, which developed from chronic active hepatitis caused by an in-service blood transfusion. The Board grants service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's death was caused by hepatitis C, which is service-connected. The claim for DIC benefits under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1318 is moot due to the grant of service connection.
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