The Board has determined that a medical opinion is needed to determine if the Veteran's service-connected PTSD with polysubstance abuse (including alcohol) caused or aggravated his liver disease, which contributed to his death.
The deciding factor: The Board found insufficient evidence to establish whether the Veteran’s service-connected PTSD and substance abuse caused or aggravated his cirrhosis of the liver, leading to his death.
- Claimed conditions
- decompensated cirrhosis of the liver, steatosis
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 31, 2020
- Citation
- 20081883
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 Board granted service connection for tinnitus and denied service connection for hypertension, coronary artery disease (CAD), diabetes mellitus, type I and II, right foot osteoarthritis, headaches, steatosis, and diabetic peripheral neuropathy.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a medical opinion on whether plantar fasciitis was aggravated by active duty training.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 30 percent rating for the Veteran's service-connected migraine headaches, but no greater.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral pes planus based on aggravation of a preexisting disability, but denied service connection for right and left knee disabilities.
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