Alcoholism/hep C

[jan]

:P If a person was discharged for alcohol and mental conditions and now has developed

Hepatitis C can these be claimed as service connection. Vet was discharged in the early

90's and the VA knew in 2001 that the vet had developed Hep C. Vet found out in 2007

that he may have Hep C. What can be done to help thisvet with connecting the the

alcohol and the Hep C?

Thanks

[Berta]

I answered a question almost exactly like this a few days ago here- it should be a few pages behind this one or search for "Allen V. Principi"

VA does not pay comp for alcoholism or drug use- if the disabilities that causedd alcohol or drug abuse are service connected (with strong medical opinion)then the disabilities can be service connected on a secondary basis to the extent that they are casued by the alcohol or drug abuse.

Allen V. Principi.

I posted the links before and we discussed this case here over the years.

Hep C- if a vet has used intravenous drugs, or gotten tattoos , the VA will often say "willful misconduct' caused the Hep C -then again Allen can play into this too-

Air guns and Hep C -the Vietnam Veterans of Amewrica got the first Hep claim award due to Air gun by using a study from England- I posted that link here long ago-the vet actually had 2 tattoos too but the VA awarded.

Drug and alcohol abuse causing disability needs strong medical nexus to award the additional disability as SCed.

I have seen these claims succeed- such as a vet with SC PTSD who self medicated with alcohol and then developed cirrosus of liver-

the veteran proved the cirrosis was directly due to his SC PTSD.

But another vet I knew had longstanding alcohol problems (100% PTSD from Vietnam) and the VA did all they could to help him stop drinking.

He died directly due to alcoholism- at about 36 years old and left 3 small boys and a wife- and no DIC-

His drinking was deemed as "willful misconduct."

There should be plenty of info here under a search re: these types of claims

also there is more info on Hep and vets available via google-

[Berta]

You said alcohol was part of discharge?

If he has bad paper-he will have to take the steps to try and get that corrected before VA would pay comp-

[john999]

What is pathetic is that the USA deploys troops to areas like Afghanistan where the world's supply of opium is being produced. Some of these drugs are bound to be sold to young and inexperienced troops who are looking for something to calm their nerves and relieve the boredom of life in a third world country in the midst of a civil war. The troops will get habits and then the military will disown them. I know the Army, at least, was very generous with cheap alcohol. They encourage young soldiers to drink and then throw them out when they become drunks. When I was young soldier many of the older lifers were drunks including officers.

[jan]

You said alcohol was part of discharge?

If he has bad paper-he will have to take the steps to try and get that corrected before VA would pay comp-

I misquoted about the alcohol he was discharged with Mental NOS. He did drink a lot after he was

discharged from the Navy. In fact he did not drink before entered the service in 1990. But when your shipmates do horrible unmentionable things to you and threaten to dispose of you at sea it is not funny.

Thanks

[carlie]

Berta,

How about if an original claim was filed Pre-OBRA 1990,

those have exceptions, Right ??

carlie

[Berta]

Boy what a great question Carlie!

This BVA decision ( a grant of DIC to a widow) includes how OBRA plays into these types of claims and it has referral to 3 General COunsel Pres Ops:

"THE ISSUE

Entitlement to dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC)

benefits under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1310 (West 1991) on the basis of

secondary service connection for the cause of the veteran's

death by a substance-abuse disability"

http://www.va.gov/vetapp99/files2/9919013.txt