The Board has remanded the DIC claim for a VA medical opinion to determine if the Veteran's death was caused by delayed care and inappropriate treatment at the Fresno VAMC. The service connection claim is also being remanded for a VA medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's hepatitis C was related to his military service.
The deciding factor: The Board found that further clarification on the causation of the Veteran's death, specifically regarding the timing and appropriateness of the care provided at the Fresno VAMC, is needed. Additionally, there is a need for an opinion on whether the Veteran's hepatitis C was related to his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- Gastrointestinal bleeding, Hepatitis C
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 12, 2020
- Citation
- 20033121
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 20033121.
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 a compensable initial rating for Hepatitis C, finding that the Veteran's condition was asymptomatic and did not meet the criteria for any higher rating.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim for service connection for cause of death, finding that there is no evidence to support a causal relationship between the Veteran's military service and his death from gastrointestinal bleeding and hypertensive cardiovascular disease.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's Hepatitis C with cirrhosis is related to service, and therefore grants service connection for these conditions.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's depressive disorder is granted as service-connected, with the Board finding it related to his active duty service and aggravated by his service-connected tibia fractures. The claim for hepatitis C is remanded due to inadequate medical opinions regarding its etiology.,Service connection for depressive disorder is established based on direct evidence of a current disability (depressive disorder) that was incurred during active duty service.
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