The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death and eligibility for DEA benefits under Chapter 35, Title 38, United States Code.
The deciding factor: There was no competent medical evidence showing that the Veteran's death is related to his military service, and he did not have a permanent and total service-connected disability at the time of his death.
- Claimed conditions
- bacterial sepsis, liver transplant, progressive sclerosing cholangitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- March 20, 2009
- Citation
- 0910511
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,035 · Granted: 30% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0910511.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
Your original rating for liver transplant (also evaluated as hepatitis C and cirrhosis) was reduced from 60% to 30%, but then restored back to 60%. Since the reduction did not occur, your claim is dismissed.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board has denied the claim for service connection for the cause of death, finding that there is no evidence linking the Veteran's causes of death to his military service or service-connected disabilities.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's diabetes, hepatitis C, and liver transplant are all granted as service-connected due to presumed exposure to herbicide agents during service.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding the etiology of his Hepatitis C, diabetes mellitus, liver transplant, and hernias. The issues of secondary service connection for these conditions will also be addressed.
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