The Board has determined that additional medical records are needed to determine if the veteran's service-connected disabilities contributed to his death. The appellant is also asked to clarify her desire to pursue the cause of death claim and provide any necessary authorization for release of information.
The deciding factor: Additional medical records, including those from the veteran's final hospitalization, need to be obtained to evaluate whether the veteran's service-connected disabilities contributed to his death.
- Claimed conditions
- septic shock, chronic liver disease, gastrointestinal bleeding, hepatic encephalopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 5, 2000
- Citation
- 0023516
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 0023516.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that a remand is necessary to correct a pre-decisional duty to assist error and obtain a new medical opinion regarding the relationship between the Veteran's service, his death, and any service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the cause of death due to lack of evidence showing a link between any service-connected disability and the Veteran's death. The conditions listed on his death certificate were not related to his military service.
- 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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for the cause of his death, finding that there was no evidence linking any of the immediate or contributing causes of his death to his period of active duty service. The Board also found that the PACT Act did not apply in this case as the Veteran served prior to the period when herbicide agents were presumed used.
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