Service connection for the Veteran's death due to hepatocellular carcinoma, hepatitis A, B, and C, and liver cirrhosis is remanded. The case requires further development regarding the USS Springfield's movements during the Veteran's service period and whether the vessel operated within 12 nautical miles of Vietnam's shores to establish presumptive herbicide exposure.
The deciding factor: The Board found that while the conditions are not presumptively associated with herbicide exposure, the Veteran may establish direct causation, and remand was necessary to obtain deck logs and records from the National Personnel Records Center to corroborate in-country service and potential Agent Orange exposure based on updated guidance regarding territorial sea jurisdiction.
- Claimed conditions
- hepatocellular carcinoma, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, liver cirrhosis
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 7, 2020
- Citation
- 20001276
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.
- 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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for hepatocellular carcinoma as the evidence did not support a link to in-service exposure or injury.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for hepatitis C, resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor.
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