The Veteran's appeal of service connection for liver cirrhosis was dismissed because he did not file an AMA appeal with the Board within one year of receiving a RAMP rating decision denying his claim.
The deciding factor: The Veteran failed to file an AMA appeal within the required timeframe, resulting in jurisdictional dismissal of the issue.
- Claimed conditions
- liver cirrhosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 29, 2020
- Citation
- 20081418
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a medical opinion regarding the Veteran's cause of death, considering potential in-service toxic exposure.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for liver cirrhosis to obtain outstanding medical records and further develop evidence of exposure to benzene during the Veteran's service.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for cervical spine disorder, lumbar spine disorder, liver cirrhosis, interstitial cystitis, liver cancer, and sleep apnea as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were related to active service.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for liver cirrhosis was dismissed due to the Veteran's death during the pendency of the appeal.
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