The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his primary or contributory causes of death were not caused by his military service or related to his service-connected disabilities.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found that the Veteran’s service-connected conditions were stable and did not play a role in his deteriorating medical condition leading to his death from metastatic liver cancer (likely due to chronic hepatitis C).
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma, status post myocardial infarction in 1997, left shoulder bursitis with myofascial syndrome, hypertension, hemorrhoids, neurodermatitis, genital herpes
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 18, 2018
- Citation
- 18158710
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 18158710.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for headaches and increased ratings for left shoulder rotator cuff tear, right shoulder rotator cuff tear, hypertension, and left and right leg restless leg syndrome. The Board denied a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss and an initial rating in excess of 70 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder.
- Granted
The Board granted an effective date of October 21, 2021, for the grant of service connection for hypertension.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for asthma but denied it for hypertension.
- Dismissed
The appeal for a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss, service connection for right ear hearing loss, and bilateral vision condition was dismissed. Service connection for hypertension, congestive heart failure, and coronary artery disease was denied.
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