The Veteran's currently diagnosed hepatitis C is related to the in-service tattoos, and the Board finds that service connection for this condition is granted.
The deciding factor: The VA infectious disease specialist opined it was more likely than not the disease was acquired through the in-service tattoos, resolving reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran.
- Claimed conditions
- hepatitis C, cirrhosis of the liver
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 27, 2015
- Citation
- 1503719
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 1503719.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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The Board has expanded the scope of the claim for major depression to encompass any mental health disability raised by the record and has remanded six issues for additional development.
- Remanded (sent back)
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection for cirrhosis of the liver has been dismissed due to their death during the pendency of the appeal.
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