The Veteran's application to reopen his previously denied claims for service connection for hepatitis C and asbestosis have been denied due to lack of new and material evidence.,Service connection has been granted for an acquired psychiatric disorder, diagnosed as major depressive disorder, secondary to service-connected acne vulgaris.
The deciding factor: The Veteran did not submit new and material evidence to reopen his previously denied claims for hepatitis C and asbestosis. The Board found that the provided evidence was either duplicative or unrelated to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate these claims.,Service connection has been granted because the medical evidence supports a finding that the Veteran's major depressive disorder is at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected acne vulgaris.
- Claimed conditions
- Hepatitis C, Asbestosis
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 13, 2020
- Citation
- 20002658
Veterans Law Judge
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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 20002658.
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.
- 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.
- Granted
The Veteran's TBI alone rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation, and he is eligible for SMC at the housebound rate due to his single total disability rating with additional disabilities rated at least 60 percent.
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