Citation Nr: 1321387	
Decision Date: 07/03/13    Archive Date: 07/12/13

DOCKET NO.  10-26 687	)	DATE
	)
	)

On appeal from the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Cleveland, Ohio


THE ISSUE

Entitlement to service connection for hepatitis C.


REPRESENTATION

Appellant represented by:	Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States


WITNESSES AT HEARING ON APPEAL

Appellant and his spouse


ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD

M. G. Mazzucchelli, Counsel


INTRODUCTION

Pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 20.900(c), this appeal has been advanced on the Board's docket.

The Veteran had active service from December 1971 to February 1974.

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a June 2009 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Cleveland, Ohio.  In May 2013, the Veteran testified in support of his claim at a videoconference hearing held before the undersigned. 

The appeal is REMANDED to the RO via the Appeals Management Center (AMC), in Washington, DC.  VA will notify the Veteran if further action is required.


REMAND

The Veteran seeks service connection for hepatitis C, which the record shows was diagnosed in approximately 2001.  VA outpatient treatment records refer to a history of crystal methamphetamine use during service and that the Veteran had tattoos of both arms in the 1970s.  The Veteran was separated from service in 1974 with a discharge under honorable conditions.  His DD-214 indicates that the reason for separation was "unfitness-drug abuse."

The Veteran and his wife testified before the Board that he has never had any tattoos.  He reports that he was exposed to blood from patients with open wounds during his service as a field medic in Germany in the early 1970s.  His DD-214 indicates that he was a medical corpsman.  He also contends that his hepatitis C may be related to use of air guns for inoculations given him as a new recruit.

The Veteran has not been provided with a VA examination.  Pursuant to VA's duty to assist, VA will provide a medical examination or obtain a medical opinion based upon a review of the evidence of record if VA determines it is necessary to decide the claim.  38 C.F.R. § 3.159(c)(4)(i) (2012). 

Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following action:

1.  Schedule the Veteran with a hepatitis examination by an appropriate medical professional to evaluate the current nature of his hepatitis C and to obtain an opinion as to whether such is possibly related to service.  The claims folder must be made available to the examiner for review in conjunction with the examination.  The examiner is to provide an opinion as to whether it is at least as likely as not (a 50 percent or greater probability) that any current hepatitis C disability initially manifested during the Veteran's period of active service or was caused by service, to include exposure to blood in his work as a field medic, and/or exposure via air inoculation gun.  A complete rationale for any opinion expressed must be provided.

2.  Arrange for any additional development indicated.  Then readjudicate the claim on appeal.  If the benefit remains denied, issue a supplemental statement of the case and provide the Veteran and his representative an appropriate period of time to respond.  The case is to then be returned to the Board for further appellate review.

The appellant has the right to submit additional evidence and argument on the matter the Board has remanded.  Kutscherousky v. West, 12 Vet. App. 369 (1999).




This claim must be afforded expeditious treatment.  The law requires that all claims that are remanded by the Board of Veterans' Appeals or by the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims for additional development or other appropriate action must be handled in an expeditious manner.  See 38 U.S.C.A. §§ 5109B, 7112 (West Supp. 2012).





_________________________________________________
RONALD W. SCHOLZ
Veterans Law Judge, Board of Veterans' Appeals

Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (West 2002), only a decision of the Board of Veterans' Appeals is appealable to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.  This remand is in the nature of a preliminary order and does not constitute a decision of the Board on the merits of your appeal.  38 C.F.R. § 20.1100(b) (2012).