BVA decisions by condition
Hepatitis c: BVA grant rates and what wins
From 2017 to 2026, the Board of Veterans' Appeals decided a hepatitis c issue in 1,213 decisions. It granted the hepatitis c issue in 11.6% of them, below the 19.4% grant rate for all conditions, denied it in 28.9%, and remanded it in 55.5%. Counting only decisions on the merits (granted or denied), 28.7% were granted.
Decisions
1,213
2017–2026
Granted
11.6%
All conditions: 19.4%
Granted on the merits
28.7%
Granted ÷ (granted + denied)
Remanded
55.5%
Denied: 28.9%
Hepatitis c outcomes by year
| Year | Issues decided | Granted | Denied | Remanded | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 194 | 10.3% | 33.0% | 45.9% | 10.8% |
| 2018 | 287 | 11.5% | 23.0% | 60.6% | 4.9% |
| 2019 | 183 | 13.7% | 29.0% | 55.2% | 2.2% |
| 2020 | 118 | 8.5% | 30.5% | 57.6% | 3.4% |
| 2021 | 122 | 9.8% | 34.4% | 52.5% | 3.3% |
| 2022 | 96 | 8.3% | 25.0% | 64.6% | 2.1% |
| 2023 | 86 | 8.1% | 23.3% | 62.8% | 5.8% |
| 2024 | 68 | 14.7% | 35.3% | 50.0% | 0.0% |
Each row counts issues (each condition the Board decided), so the shares add up to 100%. Other: dismissed, withdrawn or no clear outcome. Years with fewer than 50 issues are left out.
Evidence in granted and denied hepatitis c decisions
For each kind of supporting evidence: how often the Board granted the hepatitis c issue on the merits when the decision mentioned it, compared with decisions that did not. These are associations, not causes, and evidence is recorded per decision, not per issue.
| In the record | Decisions | Granted when present | When absent | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Positive nexus opinion | 232 | 61.4% | 17.3% | +44.1 pts |
| Favorable VA exam | 166 | 52.9% | 23.6% | +29.3 pts |
| Claimed as secondary | 83 | 54.5% | 26.9% | +27.7 pts |
| Private medical opinion | 380 | 45.4% | 18.6% | +26.8 pts |
| Combat service | 99 | 42.1% | 27.6% | +14.5 pts |
| Treating physician opinion | 71 | 39.4% | 27.9% | +11.4 pts |
| Lay statement | 1,045 | 27.3% | 39.7% | −12.4 pts |
- The Board applied the benefit-of-the-doubt rule (38 CFR 3.102) in 82.3% of the decisions that granted hepatitis c.
- The Board found the veteran's statements credible in 39.0% of grants and 10.6% of denials.
Negative evidence in the record
An unfavorable exam or a negative nexus opinion often sits in the same record as favorable evidence, and the Board weighs them against each other. So these rows show how often hepatitis c was still granted when the record contained the negative item, not that the item helped.
| In the record | Decisions | Granted when present | When absent | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Negative nexus opinion | 678 | 25.6% | 35.5% | −9.9 pts |
| Unfavorable VA exam | 871 | 26.8% | 38.3% | −11.4 pts |
Why the Board granted or denied hepatitis c
Most common reasons in grants
- Current diagnosis established13
- Caused by the service-connected disability4
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service3
- Conflicting medical opinions regarding service connection3
- Service connection established2
- Criteria for service connection met2
Most common reasons in denials
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service48
- Preponderance of the evidence against the claim44
- No in-service complaints, treatment or diagnosis41
- No current diagnosis24
- Service records negative or silent16
- Criteria for service connection not met7
- Current diagnosis established6
- New and material evidence submitted to reopen claim2
Numbers are decisions that gave the reason. Reasons are short phrases extracted by AI from each decision; common wordings of the same reason are grouped. Benefit of the doubt is reported above.
Recent hepatitis c decisions
Granted
Resolving reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran; Criteria for service connection met; Evidence in approximate balance
Benefit of the doubt afforded; Symptoms indicative of 40% rating; Sustained weight loss noted
In-service diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis; Veteran's consistent lay statements of exposure and symptoms; Private medical opinions linking hepatitis C to in-service hepatitis; Equipoise in evidence resolved in veteran's favor
Denied
No evidence of onset during service; No adequate medical opinion linking to service; Chiropractor opinion found inadequate due to factual inaccuracies
In-service sexually transmitted infection documented.; Found to be sufficient to document in-service exposure to Hepatitis C.; Reasonable doubt resolved in veteran's favor regarding etiology.
Symptoms duplicative of cirrhosis of the liver; Overlapping symptoms with 100% rated cirrhosis; Benefit of the doubt not applicable
Rules that apply to hepatitis c claims
- 38 CFR 3.303
Principles of service connection
Read it in VA Law Explorer - 38 CFR 3.310
Secondary service connection and aggravation
Read it in VA Law Explorer - 38 CFR 3.102
Reasonable doubt (benefit of the doubt)
Read it in VA Law Explorer
Research your hepatitis c case
Narrow by year, judge, evidence or secondary condition, read the decisions, and export a research memo.
How these numbers are calculated
- Rates count decisions in which the Board decided a hepatitis c issue, by the outcome of that issue. Other issues in the same decision can have different outcomes.
- “Granted on the merits” leaves out remands and dismissals. “All conditions” is the grant share across every condition issue in the data.
- The data comes from CaseScribe's AI extraction of public BVA decisions (2017–2026) and can contain errors. It is updated automatically as new decisions are added.