The Board has remanded the case for further development due to inadequate medical opinion regarding the cause of death and potential exposure triggers. The appellant's representative provided additional medical research suggesting possible triggers.
The deciding factor: The VA physician did not consider potential exposure to viral hepatitis or Agent Orange as a trigger for the Veteran's autoimmune hepatitis, which is believed by some medical research to be caused by these exposures.
- Claimed conditions
- Autoimmune hepatitis, Liver failure secondary to chronic active hepatitis
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 21, 2015
- Citation
- 1540667
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 1540667.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for autoimmune hepatitis, rheumatoid arthritis, a gastrointestinal disorder, an acquired psychiatric disorder, and an internal bleeding disorder as there was no evidence of current disabilities or functional impairments related to these conditions.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's autoimmune hepatitis, which caused his death in September 2006, was related to service. As a result, service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death is granted.
- Denied
The Board has found that the Veteran's gastrointestinal disorder, to include Crohn's Disease, is not related to her active military service. The claims for PTSD and autoimmune hepatitis are remanded as the Veteran requested a hearing before the Board.
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