The Board found that the cause of the Veteran's death, which was alcoholic liver disease and gastrointestinal bleeding, was not related to his active service.
The deciding factor: There is no medical evidence linking the fatal conditions to service, including a lack of pre-service or post-service diagnosis of gastritis or peptic ulcer disease.
- Claimed conditions
- Alcoholic liver disease, Acute hemorrhagic gastritis and/or peptic ulcer disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 15, 2011
- Citation
- 1114855
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 1114855.
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.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's death was caused by alcoholic liver disease, which developed due to his long-standing alcohol use and psychiatric disability. The Board found that service-connected disability contributed to the cause of death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient development of medical records and need for an addendum opinion regarding the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder. The claim will be further developed to determine if any service-connected disability contributed to the cause of death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding whether the Veteran had PTSD related to combat in Vietnam, which is necessary for service connection of his cause of death.
- Granted
The Veteran's cause of death was determined to be due to alcoholic liver disease, which the Board found at least as likely as not to have been incurred during service. Service connection for the cause of death is granted.
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