Citation Nr: 21010826 Decision Date: 02/25/21 Archive Date: 02/25/21 DOCKET NO. 18-42 885 DATE: February 25, 2021 ORDER Service connection for cirrhosis of the liver, as secondary to service-connected Hepatitis C, is granted. THE VETERAN’S CONTENTIONS The Veteran seeks entitlement to service connection for cirrhosis of the liver as secondary to his service-connected Hepatitis C. See September 2016 Veteran’s Supplemental Claim for Compensation; August 2018 VA Form 9. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran’s cirrhosis of the liver is related to his service-connected Hepatitis C. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for entitlement to service connection for cirrhosis of the liver are met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.310. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Navy from May 1969 to February 1973. This case comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal of the December 2016 rating decision from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Board notes that, although the Veteran requested a Board hearing in August 2018, a Board hearing has not been conducted on this issue. See August 2018 VA Form 9. However, as the Board has determined that service connection for cirrhosis of the liver may be granted based on the evidentiary record as it currently stands, and this represents a full grant of the benefits sought in regard to this issue, the Board’s failure to provide a hearing is not prejudicial to the Veteran in this case. The Board denied the Veteran’s claim for entitlement to service connection for cirrhosis of the liver as secondary to Hepatitic C in an August 2019 decision. The Veteran appealed the August 2019 Board decision to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, resulting in an October 2020 Joint Motion for Partial Remand (JMPR) on the issue of entitlement to service connection for cirrhosis of the liver, as secondary to service-connected Hepatitis C. Although the parties to the JMPR determined that the Board erred by conflating the issue of service connection for cirrhosis in this case with the issue of whether a separate compensable rating for cirrhosis was warranted, the Board observes that service connection is already in effect for Hepatitic C with cirrhosis. See April 2017 Rating Decision code sheet. As such, the Veteran’s claim of entitlement to service connection for cirrhosis is moot as the benefit sought on appeal is already in effect. See Baughman v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 563, 566 (1991). Despite that service connection is already in effect for Hepatitis C and cirrhosis jointly, the Board in this decision clarifies, in compliance with the October 2020 JMPR, that a separate grant of service connection for cirrhosis is warranted as secondary to Hepatitis C. Service connection may be granted for a disability that is proximately due to or the result of a service-connected disease or injury. 38 C.F.R. § 3.310(a). Establishing service connection on a secondary basis requires evidence sufficient to show (1) that a current disability exists and (2) that the current disability was either (a) proximately caused by or (b) proximately aggravated by a service-connected disability. Allen v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 439 (1995) (en banc). In an October 2016 Hepatitis, Cirrhosis, and Other Liver Conditions Disability Benefits Questionnaire (DBQ), the examiner diagnosed cirrhosis of the liver and determined that this condition is as likely as not related to Hepatitic C. Accordingly, the Board finds that service connection is warranted for cirrhosis of the liver, as secondary to service-connected Hepatitis C. S.C. Krembs Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board C. Samuelson, Counsel 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.