The Veteran's death was not due to a service-connected disability, as his liver cancer and hepatitis C were not shown to be related to his military service.
The deciding factor: The VA medical opinion found that the Veteran’s in-service drug use did not cause his hepatitis C or liver cancer.
- Claimed conditions
- liver cancer, hepatitis C
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 26, 2019
- Citation
- 19189584
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 19189584.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for hepatitis C, jaundice, hypogeusia, and hyposmia as there was no evidence of a current disability during the pendency of the claim.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board denied service connection for hepatitis C and remanded the claim for a heart disability due to insufficient evidence.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for hepatitis C, resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issue of entitlement to an initial compensable disability rating for service-connected hepatitis C due to an inadequate VA examination and medical opinions.
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