Citation Nr: 18154338 Decision Date: 11/29/18 Archive Date: 11/29/18 DOCKET NO. 15-30 892A DATE: November 29, 2018 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for hepatitis C is granted. FINDING OF FACT The evidence is at least in equipoise as to whether the Veteran’s hepatitis C is related to service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for hepatitis C are met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303(a). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty with the United States Army from October 1967 to October 1969. This matter is before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a January 2015 rating decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Veteran testified before the Board at a hearing in November 2018. As this appeal is being processed and granted under the Board’s “One Touch” program, a transcript of the hearing is not yet in the claims file but will be obtained and added to the claims file at a later time. Service Connection for Hepatitis C The Veteran and his representative contend the Veteran’s hepatitis C is related to exposure to other service members’ blood when immunized in service, when sharing razors in service, or when being in contact with blood from wounded soldiers during his combat service in Vietnam. See Statement in Support of Claim, dated May 27, 2014; Statement of Accredited Representative in Appealed Case, dated May 27, 2016. The Board concludes that the Veteran has a current diagnosis of hepatitis C that is related to service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5107(b); Holton v. Shinseki, 557 F.3d 1363, 1366 (Fed. Cir. 2009); 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a). A May 2013 liver biopsy and VA treatment records reflect the Veteran has a current diagnosis of hepatitis C. The Veteran’s service personnel records reflect that he served in Vietnam as a light weapons infantryman and received the Combat Infantryman’s Badge. 38 U.S.C. § 1154(b). A private physician opined in October 2015 that the Veteran’s hepatitis C is related to his service in Vietnam, to include his experiences during combat. The rationale was that hepatitis C is a deteriorating disease and can be present for two to three decades without showing signs or symptoms. The physician stated the Veteran has no medical or other risk factors that could contribute to his hepatitis C. Further, she stated that the Veteran’s hepatitis C could have been contracted using the “Jet/Air gun” for mass immunizations, by the sharing of razors between service members, or from the contact with blood from wounded service members or moving the deceased. In addition, the private physician noted how there is reported to be a very large number of hepatitis C antibody positive individuals from the Vietnam era, so his service in Vietnam is most likely where his hepatitis C began. The Board acknowledges that a VA examiner stated in January 2015 that she could not opine without resorting to speculation whether the Veteran’s hepatitis is related to service. In reaching that conclusion, the VA examiner cited to how there is no documentation of hepatitis C in service and the first diagnosis of hepatitis C is in 2013, over 40 years after service. The Board gives great probative weight to the private physician’s October 2015 opinion as the opinion is consistent with the record, she treated the Veteran, and the opinion reflects a detailed consideration of the Veteran’s history, including his combat service in Vietnam. As the January 2015 VA examiner did not provide an actual opinion as to whether the Veteran’s current hepatitis C is related to service, the Board places little weight of probative value on the January 2015 VA examination. Accordingly, the Board finds that the evidence is at least in equipoise as to whether the Veteran’s hepatitis C is related to his service. Therefore, resolving any doubt in favor of the Veteran, service connection for hepatitis C is granted. M. SORISIO Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD N. Breitbach, Associate Counsel