The Board denied the appeal for service connection for cause of death due to lack of a timely substantive appeal. The claim was reopened based on new and material evidence, but service connection could not be established as there was no in-service incurrence or medical nexus between any of the conditions that caused the Veteran's death and his military service.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the appellant did not file a timely substantive appeal for the July 2011 rating decision denying service connection for cause of death, thus the appeal was denied. The claim was reopened based on new evidence submitted by the appellant, but no causal link between any of the conditions causing the Veteran's death and his military service could be established.
- Claimed conditions
- Gastrointestinal bleeding, Esophageal varices, Hepatic cirrhosis, Hepatic failure
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- January 3, 2019
- Citation
- 19100217
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,162 · Granted: 21% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 19100217.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the claim for service connection for cause of death, finding that there is no evidence to support a causal relationship between the Veteran's military service and his death from gastrointestinal bleeding and hypertensive cardiovascular disease.
- Whole decision: 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.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for the cause of death and Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) to correct a pre-decisional duty-to-assist error, as the VA examinations are inadequate.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a new medical opinion to address the nature and etiology of the Veteran's cause of death, specifically regarding its relation to presumed herbicide agent exposure.
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