The Board has determined that additional evidentiary development is necessary prior to the adjudication of the Appellant's claim for entitlement to benefits under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 due to a liver condition, and instructions are given to obtain a new medical opinion.
The deciding factor: The decision was remanded because the VA medical opinions provided were inadequate for adjudication purposes and an independent medical expert is required to provide an advisory medical opinion on whether the Veteran's liver condition was aggravated by carelessness or negligence from treatment at Danville VAMC.
- Claimed conditions
- cirrhosis of the liver
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 20, 2019
- Citation
- 19173515
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 19173515.
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.
- Dismissed
The appeals for service connection for various conditions were dismissed due to the Veteran's death.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for cirrhosis of the liver, finding that it was due to herbicide exposure during the Veteran's service in Vietnam.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an initial rating of 40 percent for hepatitis C and cirrhosis of the liver, but denied earlier effective dates for service connection and a higher rating for tinnitus.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for cirrhosis of the liver and hepatitis B, finding no evidence linking these conditions to the Veteran's military service.
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