Here’s another one of those decisions that makes your hair stand on end- and it isn’t even Halloween yet. Nope. Not static electricity either.

When you approach a VSO to represent you, you have to assume they are well versed in VA law. Right? I mean, that’s what they do unless they have a Bar/restaurant on site. In that case, justice can get pretty slippery. Witness the poor Vet who gets AMLEG (American Legion ) to represent him on a claim for HCV and HBV. Things start going south before he even gets out of the gate. He’s a Vietnam Vet w/ DM 2 so he’s getting probably 20% for a rating. The rep writes up the claim such that the HCV is claimed SECONDARY to the DM2 or, in the alternative, related to AO exposure. George Jetson’s dog Astro would be saying “Ruh-Oh, Rorge!” about now. For the uninformed, there is a specific list of arcane diseases that are considered “presumptive” as to AO. HCV is not one of them. Any claim for Hep C , secondary to DM2 or AO,  is dead on arrival. Period. Zip. Zero. Nada.  Mr. Service Officer, he of the AMLEG persuasion, would know this if he doesn’t conduct his business in the bar. Winning a claim for HCV requires many things to happen. Proper preparation is paramount for this or any other type of disease /injury. Going off half cocked, or worse yet, failing to load the gun, is inexcusable.

One risk factor for HCV is unprotected sex, high risk sexual practices or having multiple partners. VA actually considers this as a very low percentage of risk- in the neighborhood of 5-10 % while you were in service. Proof of this is required and evidence such as NGU, clap, gonorrhea, or genital warts in your service medical records would be excellent proof— if you get a doctor to write a nexus to that effect. However, if you engage in any of these practices after service, that same risk for HCV via the diseases mentioned, all of a sudden climbs to 51%– as in, “It is more likely than less likely that the Veteran contracted his HCV following service due to unsafe sexual practices”.

The Vet in the following case lost this before the C file ever leftNew Orleans. He certainly didn’t do himself any favors when he denied any contact with prostitutes in Cholon district. You don’t get the clap from dirty toilet seats. And besides, getting hosed by a lady of the night with an expired VD card is not willful misconduct. With a proper nexus letter from a doctor, arranged for by Mr. Knowledgeable VSO Service Officer, this Vet could have won this hands down. He has two different “penile events” that would give him presumptive risk for HCV. All this flies over the head of Mr. Knowitall.

One last observation. The Vet has had the Hep so long, his liver crapped out and he had to get a retread. It appears that one was defective as well. Rotten luck. Everything about this case is rotten. We cannot reiterate this enough to Vets preparing to file a claim. Ask questions. Get involved. Get a second and then a third opinion. If you can afford it, get a knowledgeable attorney that specializes in VA law exclusively. Your claim depends on it.

http://www4.va.gov/vetapp10/files4/1030693.txt