The Board has determined that the Veteran's in-service hospitalization and treatment for hepatitis A likely contributed to his later diagnosis of hepatitis C, which caused his death. Therefore, service connection is granted for the cause of the Veteran’s death.
The deciding factor: The Board found reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran regarding the cause of his hepatitis C, attributing it to his in-service hospitalization and treatment for hepatitis A.
- Claimed conditions
- Hepatitis A, Hepatitis C
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 26, 2021
- Citation
- 21024731
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 21024731.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to an error in providing notice of a pre-decisional hearing. The Veteran's claim for service connection for hepatitis A will be reconsidered by the AOJ with instructions to provide such notice.
- 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.
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