The Board found that the veteran's current Hepatitis C was not incurred during his active military service and is not related to any in-service exposure. The claim for service connection was denied.
The deciding factor: The expert concluded that the most likely cause of the veteran's Hepatitis C infection was his history of parenteral drug use, which made it 24 times more probable than exposure to blood during combat.
- Claimed conditions
- Hepatitis C
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 31, 2006
- Citation
- 0622518
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 0622518.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a new VA addendum opinion to determine if the Veteran's liver cancer and hepatitis C are related to his active service, including exposure to agent orange.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for several conditions, including lumbar spine degenerative arthritis and radiculopathy of the sciatic and femoral nerves, with effective dates from March 15, 2013. The Board also granted a TDIU and DEA based on unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for bilateral hearing loss, hypertension, and hepatitis C as there was no evidence of functional impairment sufficient to warrant a higher rating.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed all claims for service connection and denied an earlier effective date for the award of service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
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