The Board has determined that the veteran's death was caused by VA's failure to exercise the degree of care expected from a reasonable healthcare provider, specifically in not conducting routine surveillance for hepatocellular carcinoma. As a result, DIC benefits are granted.
The deciding factor: VA failed to monitor and diagnose the veteran's hepatocellular carcinoma at an earlier stage due to lack of proper skill or judgment in not conducting routine surveillance.
- Claimed conditions
- hepatocellular carcinoma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 15, 2008
- Citation
- 0835317
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 0835317.
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 Veteran's appeal for service connection for hepatocellular carcinoma, which is secondary to hepatitis C, has been dismissed due to the Veteran's death.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's requests for earlier effective dates for service connection of kidney cancer and liver cancer, finding that no formal or informal claims were filed prior to February 12, 2025.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that new and relevant evidence has been received to reconsider the claim for DIC. The AOJ will now review the case in light of all available evidence.
- Granted
The Board has granted the claim of service connection for hepatocellular carcinoma, finding that it was aggravated by the Veteran's service-connected diabetes mellitus type II.
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