Citation Nr: 18110872
Decision Date: 06/13/18	Archive Date: 06/13/18

DOCKET NO. 15-12 893
DATE:	June 13, 2018
REMANDED
Entitlement to service connection for hepatitis C is remanded.
REASONS FOR REMAND
The Veteran served on active duty from July 1971 to July 1974.  
This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a January 2014 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office.
The Veteran testified at a July 2015 Board hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge (VLJ), and a transcript is of record.
The Board notes that a matter regarding service connection for hematuria has been reasonably raised by the Veteran at his July 2015 Board hearing.  This matter has not been addressed by the AOJ, the Board does not have jurisdiction over it, and it is referred to the AOJ for appropriate action. 
1. Entitlement to service connection for hepatitis C is remanded.
The Veteran is seeking service connection for hepatitis C.  Before a decision can be reached on this claim, a remand is necessary to ensure that there is a complete record upon which to afford the Veteran every possible consideration.  See 38 U.S.C. § 5103A; 38 C.F.R. § 3.159.
The Veteran contends that he contracted hepatitis C while in service either by being exposed to an infected razor when he was bedridden and shaved by a nurse in July 1974, or when he underwent a dental procedure in which a tooth was extracted via hammer and chisel, in which he may have been exposed to contaminated equipment.  See July 2015 Board Hearing transcript.  
The Board finds that the Veteran’s service treatment records reflect that he was hospitalized and bedridden after enduring a beating to his back in July 1974.  He was hospitalized from July 7 to the 20th.  Therefore, affording the Veteran the benefit of the doubt, the Board finds his statements that he was shaved during this time of hospitalization to be credible.  Furthermore, the Veteran’s in service dental record verifies that he had multiple teeth extracted and removed in 1973.  See Service Dental Treatment records; January 22 1973, February 21 1973, February 26 1973 indicating extraction and removal of teeth.  As there is no opinion of record, the Board finds that an examination and opinion should be obtained with regard to whether the Veteran’s current hepatitis C is caused by or related to his in service hospitalization in July 1974 or his in service extraction of teeth in 1973.  
The matter is REMANDED for the following action:
1. The AOJ should afford the Veteran a VA examination with an appropriate examiner to assess the Veteran’s hepatitis C.  The AOJ should provide the examiner with a complete copy of the claims file including this remand order.  
In regard to any current hepatitis C disability, the examiner should provide an opinion on whether is it at least as likely as not (i.e. probability of 50 percent or greater) that the disability was incurred in, or is otherwise related to, the Veteran’s active duty service. 
In the opinion the examiner should consider and address the Veteran’s credible reports of being shaved by a nurse during his hospitalization in July 1974 in addition to documentation of teeth, specifically #16, #1 and #32, extracted and surgically removed with sutures placed, as noted in the Veteran’s 1973 dental records.
2. After the above development has been completed, the AOJ must readjudicate the claim for entitlement to service connection for hepatitis C.  If the benefit sought remains denied, the AOJ must provide the Veteran and his representative with a supplemental statement of the case and return the case to the Board.
 
S. HENEKS
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	Kamal, Nadia