This is quite possibly one of the worst examples of how far the VARO “Examiners” will go to deny a Vet’s claim in spite of all the evidence to the contrary.He was then turned down at the BVA after a 3 year wait and appealed it to the CAVC. They overruled the BVA and remanded it in 2007. Obviously the Indianapolis VARO denied it again and it went back up to the BVA a second time. Here is the win after 6 long years. This also illustrates another pet theory of mine. If you are a constant nag, eventually they give you what you want if there’s some meat to it.

http://www.va.gov/vetapp08/Files4/0833161.txt

Let’s summarize this decision. Keep in mind all this “evidence” was available to 1) the Indianapolis VARO raters in 2002; 2) the BVA VLJ Cheryl Mason (above) in 2003 and 2005;3) the CAVC(who got it right)in 2007; and finally back up again from the Indianapolis VARO Idiots to VLJ Mason for a final stab at Justice in October of this year! She finally got the facts straight and granted this VET SC for his Hep. As you can see by reading it, the VHA “Expert” tried everything it his book of tricks and even resorted to casting the bones, reading tea leaves and the dreaded Oui Jui Board in an attempt to deny the poor man. I love the sentence where the “physician” opines that the Veteran’s service in Ethiopia was not a determinative factor in the contraction of this disease. The highpoint has to be that they tried to alternately say the Vet: 1) had hep before he entered service; and 2)if that theory didn’t float that even though he had Hep. not once, but twice, while in service, he somehow got it from IVDU or nose candy AFTER service. Hello? Anybody home? This really makes you wonder how this doctor gets his underwear on facing the right way every morning(Yellow in front, Brown in back?-Good to go).
After all the analysis and opining, the thing that saved this claim was that the Vet had only one kind of Hepatitis- that being C. Had he contracted A or B, I suspect the VHA doc. would have come out with yet another theory to dispel any chance of SC. Two insults to our intelligence are also apparent. VA is constantly reminding us that we were of sound mind and body when we were accepted into service. Here they tried to imply the Vet wasn’t. Secondly, The VLJ finally offers the “Benefit of the Doubt Theory” as being the deciding factor in the Vet’s favor. What an absolute crock of dog doo. I will grant you that this Gentleman was no saint and has vast quantities of negative information. With that said, the VA could not hang a denial on this man because the truth was that he incurred it in service-period. This decision has some salient teaching moments for all of you Vets preparing to do battle w/ VA. They will stop at nothing to besmirch your testimony and your good name. Be careful when you are in Indian Country.