The Board is requesting additional medical records and an examination to determine if the veteran's service-connected PTSD caused or aggravated his alcoholism, hepatitis, which were identified as causes of death.
The deciding factor: The examiner will assess whether there is at least a 50% probability that the veteran's service-connected PTSD caused or aggravated his alcoholism and/or hepatitis, leading to his death.
- Claimed conditions
- alcoholism, hepatitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 8, 2004
- Citation
- 0432441
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 0432441.
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 decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding whether the Veteran's alcoholism is secondary to his service-connected adjustment disorder with anxiety and depression.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's motion to revise an August 2009 rating decision denying service connection for alcoholism (also claimed as depression) on the basis of clear and unmistakable error (CUE), finding no CUE in the original decision.
- Partly granted
The Board has granted service connection for hepatitis C and secondary service connection for cirrhosis of the liver, both determined to be related to in-service hepatitis.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the Veteran's appeals for service connection of various psychiatric conditions, including substance abuse condition, alcoholism, bipolar disorder, schizoaffective disorder, and severe depression.
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