The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been presented to reopen the veteran's claims for service connection for residuals of pneumonia and hepatitis C. However, the preponderance of the evidence does not support a finding of service connection for either condition.
The deciding factor: Medical evidence shows that any current respiratory manifestations are due to the veteran's cigarette smoking rather than residuals of the pneumonia treated during service. For hepatitis C, conflicting medical opinions exist regarding its etiology, with one VA examiner and the private physician indicating it is related to the hepatitis in service, while another VA examiner stated it was not related.
- Claimed conditions
- Residuals of Pneumonia, Hepatitis C
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 6, 2005
- Citation
- 0527159
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 0527159.
What this means for you
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied a compensable initial rating for Hepatitis C, finding that the Veteran's condition was asymptomatic and did not meet the criteria for any higher rating.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's Hepatitis C with cirrhosis is related to service, and therefore grants service connection for these conditions.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's depressive disorder is granted as service-connected, with the Board finding it related to his active duty service and aggravated by his service-connected tibia fractures. The claim for hepatitis C is remanded due to inadequate medical opinions regarding its etiology.,Service connection for depressive disorder is established based on direct evidence of a current disability (depressive disorder) that was incurred during active duty service.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected Hepatitis C, lumbar DDD with strain, osteomyelitis, and loss of use of right foot disability rendered him so helpless as to be in need of regular aid and attendance. Effective October 28, 2008, the Veteran meets the criteria for SMC under various provisions.
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