The Veteran's cause of death, end-stage liver failure due to hepatitis C, is considered service-connected for purposes of entitlement to dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC) benefits. However, the appellant was not owed any accrued benefits at the time of her husband's death as no monetary benefits were due based on his initial claim filed before he died.
The deciding factor: The Veteran had a current disability (hepatitis C), which caused his death, and it is established that this condition was incurred during active service. However, since the appellant was not owed any money at the time of her husband's death, she cannot receive accrued benefits.
- Claimed conditions
- hepatitis C
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 5, 2018
- Citation
- 18147640
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 18147640.
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 denied service connection for hepatitis C, jaundice, hypogeusia, and hyposmia as there was no evidence of a current disability during the pendency of the claim.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board denied service connection for hepatitis C and remanded the claim for a heart disability due to insufficient evidence.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for hepatitis C, resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for hepatitis C, ulcerative colitis, lung disease, and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) as there was no evidence of an in-service injury or disease related to these conditions.
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