The Board found no evidence of hepatitis C or hepatocellular cancer during service, and the preponderance of the evidence is against finding that these conditions were otherwise etiologically related to service. The Veteran's liver was normal five years after discharge from active duty.
The deciding factor: There is no evidence of hepatitis C or hepatocellular cancer in the service treatment records, and the Veteran's liver function studies were unremarkable approximately five years post-service.
- Claimed conditions
- hepatitis, hepatocellular cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 27, 2010
- Citation
- 1040294
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 1040294.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Board has granted service connection for hepatitis C and secondary service connection for cirrhosis of the liver, both determined to be related to in-service hepatitis.
- Granted
The Veteran's cause of death was respiratory failure caused by hepatic failure, hepatocellular cancer, and chronic hepatitis C infection.,Service connection for the cause of death is granted as his alcohol and substance abuse were secondary to his service-connected PTSD.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection are remanded due to the failure to schedule VA examinations related to his claimed disabilities. The Board finds that there was a pre-decisional error in not ensuring proper communication with the Veteran.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for an initial disability rating in excess of 60 percent for hepatitis B with cirrhosis of the liver and hepatocellular cancer, as well as a separate disability rating. The AOJ must obtain a medical opinion to clarify the nature and severity of the Veteran's hepatocellular carcinoma during the entire appellate period on review.
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