The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient opinions regarding the relationship between the Veteran's service-connected PTSD and his substance abuse, which could affect his cause of death.
The deciding factor: The VA needs additional medical expert opinions to determine if the Veteran’s PTSD caused or aggravated his drug use, which may impact his cause of death.
- Claimed conditions
- alcoholic liver disease, hepatocellular carcinoma, chronic obstructive lung disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- January 25, 2019
- Citation
- 19106117
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,506 · Granted: 43% (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 19106117.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
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: Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection for hepatocellular carcinoma, which is secondary to hepatitis C, has been dismissed due to the Veteran's death.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's death is attributed to multiple conditions, including chronic obstructive lung disease. The Board has decided that the service connection for the cause of death must be remanded due to a duty-to-assist error.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's requests for earlier effective dates for service connection of kidney cancer and liver cancer, finding that no formal or informal claims were filed prior to February 12, 2025.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that new and relevant evidence has been received to reconsider the claim for DIC. The AOJ will now review the case in light of all available evidence.
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