The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for Hepatitis C and an increased evaluation for lumbar spine degenerative disc disease, finding no evidence of a direct relationship to service. The claim for increased evaluations for post-traumatic osteoarthritis of the knees was not addressed in this decision.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there is no objective evidence showing blood transfusions in service or any risk factors related to Hepatitis C. Additionally, the medical records did not support a direct relationship between the veteran's current conditions and his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- Hepatitis C, Post-traumatic osteoarthritis of the left knee, Post-traumatic osteoarthritis of the right knee, Lumbar spine degenerative disc disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- April 25, 2006
- Citation
- 0611869
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,710 · Granted: 15% (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 0611869.
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 granted service connection for cervical spine degenerative disc disease, lumbar spine degenerative disc disease, left lower extremity radiculopathy, and right lower extremity radiculopathy. Service connection was denied for a groin condition.
- 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.
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