The Veteran's cause of death was not caused by or related to any service-connected disability, including those potentially linked to his exposure at Camp Lejeune.
The deciding factor: The VA medical opinions determined that the Veteran’s hepatic encephalopathy and hepatic failure were more likely due to alcohol-induced liver damage rather than exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.
- Claimed conditions
- hepatic encephalopathy, hepatic failure
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Camp Lejeune water
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 12, 2019
- Citation
- 19193310
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 19193310.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issue of entitlement to service connection for the Veteran's cause of death, for purposes of entitlement to dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC), as further development is necessary.
- Partly granted
The previously denied claim of entitlement to service connection for hepatitis C is reopened and granted in part, while other claims are remanded.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death and the claim for accrued benefits due to a lack of evidence linking these conditions to the Veteran's military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided that the Veteran's death may be related to his time aboard a ship in Vietnam, but more evidence is needed to confirm this. The VA will verify if the ship was within Vietnam's territorial sea and obtain deck logs for further review.
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