The Veteran's claim of service connection for hepatitis C has been reopened. The Board finds new and material evidence to support the reopening of this claim, but further development is needed before a decision can be made on whether service connection should be granted.
The deciding factor: New and material evidence was received that suggests the Veteran has a confirmed diagnosis of hepatitis C, which relates to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate his claim for service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 21, 2013
- Citation
- 1332478
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 1332478.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
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 determined that the Veteran's Hepatitis C with cirrhosis is related to service, and therefore grants service connection for these conditions.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for service connection were denied, and the reduction of his hepatitis B rating from 20% to 0% was upheld. Service connection was not established for diabetes, left knee arthritis, hypertension, or obstructive sleep apnea. Bilateral hearing loss was granted.
- 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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