The Veteran's cause of death (liver cancer) is not related to his military service, and he did not serve during a period of war for VA non-service connected pension purposes. Therefore, the claims for non-service connected death pension and DIC benefits are denied.
The deciding factor: The Veteran died from liver cancer which was not shown to be related to his military service, and he did not have active service during a period of war for VA non-service connected pension purposes.
- Claimed conditions
- liver cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 5, 2019
- Citation
- 19160580
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 19160580.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for cancer of the hip bone and liver cancer is dismissed due to the Veteran's death.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for gastrointestinal cancer other than esophageal cancer and stomach cancer, brain cancer, and prostate cancer. The issues of entitlement to service connection for esophageal cancer, metastatic esophageal cancer, lung cancer, stomach cancer, and liver cancer were remanded.
- Granted
The Board grants an earlier effective date of March 24, 2023, for the awards of service connection for lung cancer, kidney cancer, and liver cancer.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for colon cancer, liver cancer, and prostate cancer due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
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