The veteran's death is being reviewed due to incomplete records and the need for further development regarding his service connection claim. Additionally, a new rating decision must be prepared addressing his dependency and indemnity compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1318.
The deciding factor: Incomplete terminal hospitalization records are preventing a determination on the cause of death claim.
- Claimed conditions
- hepatic encephalopathy, metastatic liver cancer
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 2, 2000
- Citation
- 0005696
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0005696.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for hepatitis C and its secondary effects on other conditions, including cirrhosis of the liver, diabetes mellitus type II, esophageal varices, hepatic encephalopathy, and splenomegaly.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to insufficient medical opinions and potential errors in legal standards. The claims will be reconsidered with new opinions addressing the etiology of the Veteran's colon cancer, including its relationship to his military service.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for cause of death, finding that his metastatic liver cancer was at least as likely as not related to exposure to herbicides during active service. The decision is based on a private medical opinion supporting this conclusion.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a duty to assist error regarding service connection for cause of death. An addendum opinion is needed to determine if the Veteran's cancer is related to in-service herbicide exposure.
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