The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient opinions regarding whether the Veteran's PTSD caused or aggravated his drug abuse, which may have contributed to his cause of death.
The deciding factor: Previous opinions did not address a possible relationship between the Veteran’s service-connected PTSD and his substance abuse. An additional opinion is needed to determine if PTSD could have caused or aggravated his drug use.
- Claimed conditions
- alcoholic liver disease, hepatocellular carcinoma, chronic obstructive lung disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 25, 2019
- Citation
- 19106117
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
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 hepatocellular carcinoma as the evidence did not support a link to in-service exposure or injury.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for exostosis right foot and bilateral plantar fasciitis, but denied service connection for hysterectomy, left shoulder pain, right shoulder pain, dysmenorrhea, chronic obstructive lung disease, female sexual arousal disorder, and a foot callus.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for hepatocellular carcinoma, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between the condition and his military service.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and effective dates, as well as service connection for various conditions.
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