The Veteran's cause of death was determined to be due to alcoholic liver disease, which the Board found at least as likely as not to have been incurred during service. Service connection for the cause of death is granted.
The deciding factor: The evidence supports a finding that the Veteran’s liver disease began during service and contributed to his death.
- Claimed conditions
- Alcoholic liver disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 2, 2019
- Citation
- 19124724
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,020 · Granted: 19% (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 19124724.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's death was caused by alcoholic liver disease, which developed due to his long-standing alcohol use and psychiatric disability. The Board found that service-connected disability contributed to the cause of death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient development of medical records and need for an addendum opinion regarding the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder. The claim will be further developed to determine if any service-connected disability contributed to the cause of death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding whether the Veteran had PTSD related to combat in Vietnam, which is necessary for service connection of his cause of death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's death was caused by alcoholic liver disease, with contributory causes of hepatocellular carcinoma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The appellant claims that the Veteran's service-connected PTSD aggravated his alcohol abuse, leading to his liver disease.
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