The Board has remanded the claim of service connection for liver failure due to a duty to assist error. An addendum opinion is needed from a VA examiner regarding the etiology of the Veteran's liver failure, including autoimmune hepatitis, and whether it is at least as likely as not caused by exposure to environmental hazards during his Gulf War service.
The deciding factor: The Board found that an addendum medical opinion was necessary due to a pre-decisional error in obtaining one from the VA examiner.
- Claimed conditions
- liver failure, autoimmune hepatitis
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 1, 2020
- Citation
- A20017680
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.
- Partly granted
The appeal for service connection for depression was dismissed as it is subsumed by the already service-connected PTSD. A 50 percent rating for cluster headaches was granted, and a higher rating for autoimmune hepatitis was denied.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for autoimmune hepatitis, resolving reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran. The appeal regarding an initial compensable evaluation for hypertension was dismissed.
- Denied
The Board denied the appellant's claim for entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, as the evidence did not support a finding that the Veteran's heart condition, liver condition, or hepatitis C began during active service or were otherwise related to an in-service injury, event, or disease.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for the Veteran's cause of death, finding that her autoimmune hepatitis was related to her in-service Camp Lejeune exposures.
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