Citation Nr: 19142928 Decision Date: 06/04/19 Archive Date: 06/04/19 DOCKET NO. 15-13 545 DATE: June 4, 2019 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for hepatitis C is granted. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran’s hepatitis C is related to service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria to establish service connection for hepatitis C have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1131, 5107 (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303 (2018). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Army from December 1986 to September 1989. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a May 2011 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in ST. Petersburg, Florida. In January 2019, the Veteran testified a video-conference Board hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge. 1. Hepatitis C The Veteran asserts that service connection is warranted for his hepatitis C because the disease had its onset in service. In support, he points out that he was diagnosed as having hepatitis during service and cites as risk factors for the development of hepatitis C, including that he had a shaving profile in service, that he was shaved by his drill sergeant with an unknown razor and developed the diagnosis as a consequence of an in-service air gun immunization. In addition, he reports and the service treatment records show that he was instructed not to donate blood while in service and that a hepatitis panel was ordered. Establishing service connection generally requires medical or, in certain circumstances, lay evidence of (1) a current disability; (2) an in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a nexus between the claimed in-service disease or injury and the present disability). See Davidson v. Shinseki, 581 F.3d 1313 (Fed. Cir. 2009); Hickson v. West, 12 Vet. App. 247, 253 (1999); 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a). The evidence shows that the Veteran has a current diagnosis of hepatitis C. The medical records show that this condition was first diagnosed by VA in 2006. However, the evidence also reflects that the VA recognized the history of chronic hepatitis C since before 2006 and determined the appropriate medical recommendations. See VA medical records (March 2006). The VA medical treatment records also show that the Veteran has received treatment for hepatitis C at the VA in several occasions. The service treatment records reflect that the Veteran needed a hepatitis panel for possible treatment of the condition in service. See Service Treatment Record (January 1987). In December 2014, a VA examiner opined that it is less likely than not that the Veteran’s hepatitis C was incurred in service. The VA examiner observed that the Veteran was directed not to donate blood during service. The examiner, however, opined that it was less likely than not that the Veteran’s hepatitis C was related to or had its onset in service. The examiner reasoned that a test to rule in or exclude a hepatitis C diagnosis did not exist in 1985 or 1987. She speculated that it was more likely than not that Veteran had an abnormal liver functioning test (LFT) that led the blood bank to use the term hepatitis. In January 2019 the Veteran submitted a private medical opinion that noted the Department of Defense prior practice of using air jet injectors in military personnel. It also stated that this practice was discontinued due to possible risk of transmission of blood pathogens. The physician opined that the Veteran’s exposure to the air gun immunization practice was as likely as not the reason for the Veteran HCV infection and thus service connection is warranted. See Correspondence letter (January 2019). (Continued on the next page)   Thus, the Veteran was exposed to several risk factors in service for developing hepatitis C and has been diagnosed as having the disease. He was diagnosed as having hepatitis during service and advised not to donate blood. The initial diagnosis was in 2006. Given the Veteran’s report of in-service risk factors, the absence of a test to rule in or exclude a diagnosis of hepatitis C while the Veteran was on active duty and resolving all reasonable doubt in his favor, the Board finds that service connection for hepatitis C is warranted. STEVEN D. REISS Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD M. Alvarado- Attorney The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential, and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.