The Veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected condition, and there is no evidence of any service connection for the cause of his death. The Board denied both the claim for service connection for the cause of death and the request for burial benefits.
The deciding factor: There was no service connection for the cause of death established, and the Veteran did not meet the criteria for nonservice-connected burial benefits as he had not been discharged from active duty due to a disability incurred in line of duty.
- Claimed conditions
- Hepatic failure, Cirrhosis of the liver
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 2, 2018
- Citation
- 18123236
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 18123236.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that there are duty to assist errors in the current decision and remands the case for further development, including obtaining an ILER and a medical opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's cause of death.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for service connection for Hepatitis C and Cirrhosis of the liver were dismissed due to procedural deficiencies. The claims of entitlement to service connection for arrhythmia, chronic kidney disease, and bilateral lower extremity non-diabetic peripheral neuropathy are remanded.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for hepatitis C as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected bipolar disorder, and also awarded service connection for cirrhosis of the liver on an aggravation basis due to the Veteran's bipolar disorder.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection due to a need for additional evidence, specifically the Veteran's complete service treatment records and service personnel records.
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