The Board denied service connection for the cause of death and DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 due to lack of evidence linking the veteran's fatal hepatitis C with his service-connected schizophrenia or military service.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence did not support a link between the veteran's service-connected schizophrenia and his fatal hepatitis C, nor was there any evidence that the hepatitis C was related to his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- Paranoid schizophrenia, Hepatitis C with liver cirrhosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 18, 2000
- Citation
- 0018793
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 0018793.
What this means for you
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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 an acquired psychiatric disorder other than paranoid schizophrenia, to include substance abuse disorders and PTSD, as secondary to the already service-connected paranoid schizophrenia. Service connection for PTSD is also granted based on evidence of record at least in equipoise with the claim.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter to obtain a medical opinion that addresses whether the Veteran's diagnosed conditions of paranoid schizophrenia and insomnia are related to service.
- Partly granted
The Veteran was granted an award of special monthly compensation (SMC) based on his service-connected paranoid schizophrenia and renal cancer, but the appeal for a higher level of SMC due to the need for a higher level of care in addition to regular aid and attendance was denied.
- Denied
The Veteran is found incompetent to handle her VA funds due to multiple psychiatric symptoms and frequent hospitalizations, despite receiving 100% disability pay.
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