The Board found that liver failure, cirrhosis, and chronic alcoholism were not incurred in or aggravated by the veteran's military service. The cause of death was attributed to liver failure due to liver cirrhosis and steatosis due to chronic alcoholism, but this was not considered a service-connected disability.
The deciding factor: The Board determined that there was no evidence linking the veteran’s liver failure, cirrhosis, or chronic alcoholism to his military service. The cause of death was attributed to post-mortem findings and not directly related to any service-connected condition.
- Claimed conditions
- liver failure, cirrhosis, chronic alcoholism
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 7, 2006
- Citation
- 0616612
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 0616612.
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.
- 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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for additional development, including generating a TERA memorandum and obtaining an advisory medical opinion regarding the cause of the Veteran's death.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the Veteran's cause of death, which was chronic alcoholism.
- Denied
The Board denied the appellant's claim for entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, as the evidence did not support a finding that the Veteran's heart condition, liver condition, or hepatitis C began during active service or were otherwise related to an in-service injury, event, or disease.
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