The Board has determined that the veteran's service-connected gastrointestinal disability contributed to his death from metastatic hepatoma, and thus grants the claim for cause of death.
The deciding factor: The VA physician opined that the veteran's service-connected postoperative residuals of duodenal ulcer did not contribute substantially or materially to hasten his death from hepatocellular carcinoma.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic hepatoma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 3, 2002
- Citation
- 0200082
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 0200082.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected disability, and thus denied the claim for service connection for cause of death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board is remanding the case to determine if there is a presumption of service connection for liver cancer related to Camp Lejeune exposure, as the Veteran served at Camp Lejeune and died from metastatic hepatoma (liver cancer).
- Granted
The Veteran's death was caused by metastatic hepatoma due to hepatitis C, which is linked to his service-connected PTSD. The Board finds that the Veteran's alcohol dependence and drug abuse were a result of his service-connected PTSD.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the cause of the veteran's death due to metastatic hepatoma, finding that it was not incurred in or aggravated by service and did not contribute substantially or materially to his death.
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