The Board has remanded the issue of service connection for cause of death due to potential secondary effects from service-connected disabilities. The Veteran's cause of death is not related to his active duty service, but may be aggravated by his service-connected conditions.
The deciding factor: The examiner needs to determine if the Veteran’s cause of death was caused by or aggravated by his service-connected disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- Gastrointestinal bleed, Hepatocellular cancer, Hepatitis C
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 12, 2019
- Citation
- 19170272
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 19170272.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for cirrhosis, hepatitis C, hepatocellular carcinoma, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), gastritis, Barrett's esophagus, and obstructive sleep apnea but dismissed the claim for an acquired psychiatric disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a new VA addendum opinion to determine if the Veteran's liver cancer and hepatitis C are related to his active service, including exposure to agent orange.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for several conditions, including lumbar spine degenerative arthritis and radiculopathy of the sciatic and femoral nerves, with effective dates from March 15, 2013. The Board also granted a TDIU and DEA based on unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for bilateral hearing loss, hypertension, and hepatitis C as there was no evidence of functional impairment sufficient to warrant a higher rating.
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