The Board found that the Veteran's current hepatitis C was due to his intentional use of intravenous drugs, including heroin, during active service and thus not incurred in line of duty.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner opined that the Veteran's current hepatitis C developed as a result of his inservice IV drug abuse (including heroin), which constitutes willful misconduct.
- Claimed conditions
- hepatitis, hepatitis C
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 21, 2010
- Citation
- 1018889
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 1018889.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for hepatitis C, jaundice, hypogeusia, and hyposmia as there was no evidence of a current disability during the pendency of the claim.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board denied service connection for hepatitis C and remanded the claim for a heart disability due to insufficient evidence.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for hepatitis C, resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for hepatitis C, ulcerative colitis, lung disease, and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) as there was no evidence of an in-service injury or disease related to these conditions.
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