The Board has reopened the claims for hepatitis C, fatigue, headache disorder, skin rash, and mental disability (anxiety, stress, depression and a mood disorder). The case is being remanded to conduct further medical examinations and determine the etiology of these conditions.
The deciding factor: New evidence suggests a possible nexus between the appellant's Persian Gulf War service and hepatitis C. Other medical examiners have suggested a linkage between hepatitis C and secondary disorders such as fatigue, headaches, skin rash, and mental disability (anxiety, stress, depression and a mood disorder).
- Claimed conditions
- hepatitis C, fatigue, headache disorder, skin rash, mental disability (anxiety, stress, depression and a mood disorder)
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 8, 2006
- Citation
- 0603638
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,242 · Granted: 24% (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 0603638.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has expanded the scope of the claim for major depression to encompass any mental health disability raised by the record and has remanded six issues for additional development.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the AOJ did not obtain all necessary opinions regarding whether the Veteran's symptoms are related to an undiagnosed illness or medically unexplained chronic multisymptom illness (MUCMI). The claims for service connection for fatigue, fibromyalgia, left elbow disorder, right elbow disorder, and sleep disorder are remanded for further development.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for migraine headaches, as secondary to tinnitus, is granted. The claims for service connection for hearing loss disability and a disability manifested by shortness of breath other than chronic sinusitis and allergic rhinitis are denied. The claims for service connection for an intestinal disability (diverticulitis), fatigue, hypertension, neck disability, right upper extremity radiculopathy, left upper extremity radiculopathy, right shoulder disability, left shoulder disability, upper and lower back disability, right lower extremity radiculopathy, left lower extremity radiculopathy, right hip disability, left hip disability, right foot pain, left foot pain, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and an acquired psychiatric disorder are all denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that new and relevant evidence has been received for the Veteran's claims of service connection for lumbar spine disorder and headache disorder, and thus these claims are remanded for readjudication.
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