The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for hepatocellular carcinoma and PTSD due to potential service connection, but requires additional medical opinions regarding causation.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there is a question as to whether the Veteran’s cancer was related to his active duty service and requested an opinion on this issue. The acquired psychiatric disorder claim is also remanded for further development.
- Claimed conditions
- hepatocellular carcinoma, liver cirrhosis, metastatic disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 3, 2020
- Citation
- 20000376
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,272 · Granted: 31% (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 20000376.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for back disability, gastrointestinal condition, gynecomastia, kidney lesion, and liver cirrhosis due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to his military service. The case is remanded for further development.
- Dismissed
Your appeal has been dismissed due to the Veteran's death. The claims for service connection on all listed conditions are not before the Board.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a duty-to-assist error that occurred prior to the rating decision on appeal. The Veteran's fatty liver disease, post-liver transplant, is being remanded for an addendum opinion addressing the etiology of his liver disorders before and after his liver transplant.
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