The Veteran's cause of death was hepatic coma, caused by cirrhosis and ETOH abuse. The VA has reopened the claim but denied service connection due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to military service or herbicide exposure.
The deciding factor: No medical evidence established a link between the Veteran’s military service, herbicide exposure, PTSD, or myocardial infarction and his cause of death.
- Claimed conditions
- hepatic coma, cirrhosis, ETOH (ethyl alcohol) abuse
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 25, 2018
- Citation
- 18138242
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 18138242.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's death was not caused by or substantially contributed to by any service-connected disability, and thus denied the claim for service connection for cause of death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has dismissed the appeal for accrued benefits and has remanded the issue of service connection for cause of death, as there was a duty to assist error related to obtaining a medical nexus opinion regarding in-service herbicide agent exposure.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the cause of the Veteran's death (hepatitic failure, cirrhosis, and chronic hepatitis C) is not directly related to his Marine Corps service or any verified in-service exposures. The VA examiner's opinion was found inadequate due to its reliance on the absence of medical literature without a discussion of specific facts.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's Hepatitis C with cirrhosis is related to service, and therefore grants service connection for these conditions.
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