The Veteran's claim for an initial rating in excess of 20 percent for hepatitis B from January 4, 1977, to June 18, 2009 is being remanded due to the need for a retrospective addendum opinion.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the January 2025 addendum opinion was inadequate and did not address all of the required criteria as per the February 2024 remand directives.
- Claimed conditions
- Hepatitis B
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 20, 2026
- Citation
- A26025328
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 A26025328.
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 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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's asthma and hepatitis B claims are remanded for further evaluation. The TDIU claim is also remanded due to its inextricability with the other claims.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for Hepatitis B, finding insufficient evidence of a diagnosis and thus no additional disability.
- Granted
The Veteran's hepatitis B was granted an initial disability rating of 10 percent prior to May 19, 2024, and a 20 percent rating from that date. The symptoms included intermittent fatigue and malaise.
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