The Board found that the veteran's intravenous substance abuse, a manifestation of his service-connected PTSD, was the cause of his death from metastatic adenocarcinoma and cirrhosis of the liver. As such, service connection for the cause of his death is granted.
The deciding factor: Service connection for the cause of death was granted as the veteran's intravenous substance abuse, a manifestation of his PTSD, caused his fatal conditions (metastatic adenocarcinoma and cirrhosis of the liver).
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic adenocarcinoma of the liver, cirrhosis of the liver
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 15, 2002
- Citation
- 0216407
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 0216407.
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.
- Dismissed
The appeals for service connection for various conditions were dismissed due to the Veteran's death.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for cirrhosis of the liver, finding that it was due to herbicide exposure during the Veteran's service in Vietnam.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an initial rating of 40 percent for hepatitis C and cirrhosis of the liver, but denied earlier effective dates for service connection and a higher rating for tinnitus.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for cirrhosis of the liver and hepatitis B, finding no evidence linking these conditions to the Veteran's military service.
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