The Board has remanded the case due to a lack of medical opinion regarding whether hepatitis B, noted as significant in the death certificate, is related to viral hepatitis found in service. The examiner must determine if hepatitis B was at least as likely as not caused by or contributed to the Veteran's death.
The deciding factor: The Board cannot make a fully-informed decision without an opinion on the relationship between the post-service hepatitis B and the in-service viral hepatitis.
- Claimed conditions
- viral hepatitis, hepatitis B
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 9, 2020
- Citation
- 20001576
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,435 · Granted: 22% (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 20001576.
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 withdrew his appeal for increased ratings for hepatitis B and C with chronic fatigue, migraines, cervical strain with degenerative arthritis, and chronic cartilage fracture at junction of 10th and 11th right rib complex.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for sleep apnea is being remanded due to the submission of new and relevant evidence. The claim for a higher initial rating for hepatitis B remains denied.
- Denied
The Veteran's decreased sexual drive and erectile dysfunction were not found to be related to his military service, including exposure to herbicide agents.,The Veteran's hepatitis B and hepatitis C were not found to be related to his military service, including exposure to herbicide agents.
- Granted
The Veteran's hepatitis B is found to have originated during his active-duty service, and the Board grants service connection for this condition.
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