The Board has decided that the Veteran's death was not caused by service-connected conditions, and thus remanded to obtain a medical opinion regarding the cause of his death.
The deciding factor: The Board found insufficient evidence linking the Veteran’s death to service-connected conditions or exposure to liver flukes in Vietnam.
- Claimed conditions
- upper gastrointestinal bleeding, cirrhosis-alcoholic, cholangiocarcinoma
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 20, 2019
- Citation
- 19195637
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,772 · Granted: 37% (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 19195637.
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.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's cholangiocarcinoma is related to his military service, specifically exposure to Agent Orange during service in Vietnam. After considering all evidence and resolving all doubts in favor of the Veteran, the Board granted service connection for cholangiocarcinoma.
- Granted
The Veteran's cause of death is due to cholangiocarcinoma, which was diagnosed in 1988 and presumed to be caused by herbicide exposure during service. The appellant filed a DIC application on November 27, 1989, and the claim was granted with an effective date of November 27, 1989.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for colitis, primary sclerosing cholangitis, and cholangiocarcinoma as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected vitiligo.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has dismissed the claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for cholangiocarcinoma and has remanded the service connection claim for further development.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.