The Board has determined that the veteran's HIV infection was incurred during his active military service and grants service connection for this condition.
The deciding factor: The evidence clearly shows that the veteran developed HIV prior to entry into service, but there is no clear and unmistakable evidence of pre-existing HIV. The Board finds that the HIV infection likely occurred during service due to sexual contact with fellow soldiers.
- Claimed conditions
- HIV infection
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 3, 2004
- Citation
- 0411436
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,374 · Granted: 19% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0411436.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including HIV infection, bilateral hearing loss, traumatic brain injury (TBI), sight impairment, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with unspecified depressive disorder.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for HIV infection by VAMC was denied, and the Board found that there is no evidence to support a finding of fault on VA's part in causing his HIV infection. The issue of service connection for residuals of HIV infection has been remanded due to duty-to-assist errors.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeal for service connection for HIV with peripheral neuropathy, and the Board dismissed this issue as a result.
- Granted
The Veteran's PTSD is granted as service-connected, and the HIV infection case is remanded for further review.
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