This decision denies service connection for fatigue secondary to hepatitis C. The Veteran's claim is denied as he does not have a separate compensable disability manifested by fatigue related to military service or a service-connected disability.,The decision also denies the Veteran's request for a greater amount of retroactive benefits following an increased rating for hepatitis C, finding that his retroactive disability compensation payment was correctly calculated based on his combined disability ratings and dependency status during that period.,Finally, the decision finds that the Veteran is not entitled to an earlier effective date for dependency benefits as he did not provide a completed application within one year of notification of the February 2008 award for increased compensation.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not support finding the Veteran has a disability manifested by fatigue related to military service or service-connected disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- Fatigue, Hepatitis C, Cirrhosis, Liver Cancer
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- October 24, 2019
- Citation
- 19181014
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,451 · Granted: 22% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 19181014.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: 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.
- Whole decision: 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.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's PTSD is rated at 70 percent, and the Board has determined that a higher rating of 100 percent is not warranted.,Service connection for a back disability, fatigue, and sleep apnea are remanded due to duty-to-assist errors.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for OSA as secondary to his service-connected restrictive lung disease has been granted.,The issue of entitlement to service connection for fatigue is being remanded.
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