The Board has decided to remand three issues: service connection for liver cancer, service connection for pancreatic cancer, and the cause of death. The VA will provide notice as required by Hupp v. Nicholson (2007) and obtain a further medical opinion regarding the claims.
The deciding factor: The decision is based on the need to comply with procedural requirements and to obtain additional medical opinions related to the service connection claims, particularly those involving asbestos exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- liver cancer, pancreatic cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 4, 2019
- Citation
- 19191354
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,455 · Granted: 23% (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 19191354.
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 of liver cancer has been dismissed due to their death during the pendency of the appeal.
- Denied
The Veteran's cause of death was not caused by a disability incurred or aggravated in service, and the Board denied the claim for service connection.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for intestinal cancer, liver cancer, and a liver biopsy surgical scar as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected intestinal cancer.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection for liver cancer and an increased rating for irritable bowel syndrome has been dismissed due to the Veteran's death.
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