The veteran's cause of death was not due to a service-connected disability, and he did not meet the eligibility criteria for Dependents' Education Assistance.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence does not support that the veteran's autoimmune hepatitis or cirrhosis were incurred in service or are related to his service-connected vestibular neuronitis.
- Claimed conditions
- vestibular neuronitis, autoimmune hepatitis, cirrhosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- June 26, 2001
- Citation
- 0117082
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 0117082.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for autoimmune hepatitis and rheumatoid arthritis, both found to be related to the Veteran's in-service toxic exposures at Camp Lejeune.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of March 8, 2024 for the grant of service connection for type 2 diabetes mellitus but denied earlier effective dates for atrial fibrillation and congestive heart failure. The other claims were remanded.
- Partly granted
The appeal for service connection for depression was dismissed as it is subsumed by the already service-connected PTSD. A 50 percent rating for cluster headaches was granted, and a higher rating for autoimmune hepatitis was denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issue of entitlement to service connection for the Veteran's cause of death, for purposes of entitlement to dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC), as further development is necessary.
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