The Board has decided to remand the cases for further development and consideration due to the need for a VA opinion regarding the cause of the Veteran's death.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there is insufficient evidence to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran’s chronic alcohol abuse with hepatic cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, which may be related to service.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic alcohol abuse, hepatic cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 26, 2019
- Citation
- 19188400
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,050 · Granted: 32% (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 19188400.
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 Veteran's appeal for service connection for hepatocellular carcinoma, which is secondary to hepatitis C, has been dismissed due to the Veteran's death.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for cause of death and accrued benefits due to lack of timely filing.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's requests for earlier effective dates for service connection of kidney cancer and liver cancer, finding that no formal or informal claims were filed prior to February 12, 2025.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that new and relevant evidence has been received to reconsider the claim for DIC. The AOJ will now review the case in light of all available evidence.
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