The Veteran's claims for service connection for hepatitis C and an increased rating for damage to Muscle Groups I & II were denied. The claim for SMC based on loss of use of a creative organ was also denied, as the evidence did not show loss of use due to service-connected disabilities. The TDIU claim is moot since the Veteran's PTSD alone precludes substantially gainful employment.
The deciding factor: The medical records do not provide sufficient evidence to establish current hepatitis C or any other chronic disease that could be presumed based on herbicide exposure, and there was no in-service diagnosis of hepatitis C. The service treatment records did not show any symptoms related to the claimed conditions. The Veteran's claims for increased ratings were denied as there is insufficient medical evidence to support a higher rating.
- Claimed conditions
- Hepatitis C, Hepatitis B
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 22, 2017
- Citation
- 1708892
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 1708892.
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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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