The Veteran died from gastrointestinal bleeding caused by alcohol use. The Board found that the cause of death was not related to service-connected conditions.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not establish a link between the Veteran's service-connected condition and his cause of death, nor could it be determined if the gastrointestinal bleeding was secondary to a service-connected acquired psychiatric disorder.
- Claimed conditions
- Gastrointestinal bleeding, Alcohol use
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 7, 2019
- Citation
- 19109903
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,035 · Granted: 30% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 19109903.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- 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.
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- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient clarification on whether the Veteran's AML was linked to his service, specifically his exposure to herbicides while in Vietnam. The Appellant is seeking direct service connection for AML.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the DIC claim for a VA medical opinion to determine if the Veteran's death was caused by delayed care and inappropriate treatment at the Fresno VAMC. The service connection claim is also being remanded for a VA medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's hepatitis C was related to his military service.
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