The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that liver cancer was not due to disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service and not presumed to have been incurred in service, secondary to diabetes mellitus, or due to Agent Orange exposure.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not establish a causal relationship between the Veteran's liver cancer and his military service, including any exposure to Agent Orange.
- Claimed conditions
- hepatic malignancy, cirrhosis of the liver, portal vein thrombosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 13, 2009
- Citation
- 0909367
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,599 · Granted: 37% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 0909367.
What this means for you
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection for cirrhosis of the liver has been dismissed due to their death during the pendency of the appeal.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for hepatitis C and its secondary effects on other conditions, including cirrhosis of the liver, diabetes mellitus type II, esophageal varices, hepatic encephalopathy, and splenomegaly.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for the cause of his death, finding that none of the conditions listed on his death certificate were related to his military service or exposure to herbicide agents.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for leukemia, thrombocytopenia, and bone marrow transplant with acquired agranulocytosis. The Veteran's Fanconi anemia is not considered a service-connected condition due to its congenital nature. Service connection was also denied for hepatocarcinoma and cirrhosis of the liver.
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