The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for degenerative joint disease of the lumbosacral spine and hepatitis C, finding that these conditions did not manifest in service or within one year and were not causally related to military service.
The deciding factor: The absence of evidence of complaints, treatment, or diagnosis of a back disorder during service or within one year post-service constitutes negative evidence tending to disprove the claim that the veteran had an injury or disease in service which resulted in chronic disability or persistent symptoms thereafter.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative joint disease of the lumbosacral spine, hepatitis C
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 26, 2008
- Citation
- 0806322
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 0806322.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
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The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for COPD, PTSD, hepatitis C, TDIU, and temporary total disability evaluation due to a failure to address his timely request for higher-level review of the July 2018 rating decision.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claims for diabetes, gum disease, hypertension, orthopedic foot disorder, left shoulder disorder, right shoulder disorder, hepatitis C, skin disorder of the feet (claimed as trench foot), and an acquired psychiatric disorder (claimed as depression and anxiety) due to errors in duty to assist.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for hepatitis C and its secondary effects on other conditions, including cirrhosis of the liver, diabetes mellitus type II, esophageal varices, hepatic encephalopathy, and splenomegaly.
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