The Board has determined that the evidence is at least in equipoise as to whether the Veteran's current acquired psychiatric disability was incurred during his military service, and therefore grants service connection for this condition. Service connection for hepatitis C is denied.
The deciding factor: The Board found the evidence to be at least in equipoise regarding whether the Veteran’s acquired psychiatric disability was related to his service, particularly an in-service incident involving witnessing dead bodies. The Board also noted that there is no clear evidence of a direct link between hepatitis C and the Veteran's service.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired Psychiatric Disability, Hepatitis C
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 29, 2020
- Citation
- 20070185
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,810 · Granted: 23% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 20070185.
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.
- 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 Veteran's acquired psychiatric disability is rated at 100 percent, and he is granted SMC based on housebound status. The issue of entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) is dismissed as moot due to the grant of a 100 percent schedular rating for his service-connected acquired psychiatric disability.
- 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.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, to include PTSD, finding that the Veteran's current condition is related to her military service and not a pre-existing condition. The decision also acknowledges that her service-connected disabilities may have contributed to her current mental health issues.
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