The Board denied the claim for service connection for cause of the Veteran’s death because there was no evidence linking any diagnosed conditions to his military service.
The deciding factor: There is no medical evidence showing a diagnosis of hepatitis C or other condition that could have caused the Veteran's liver cancer and cardiac arrest, and there were no in-service events or diseases related to these conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- Liver cancer, Cardiac arrest
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- January 13, 2021
- Citation
- 21002317
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 21002317.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's death was not caused by any service-connected disability, and therefore denied entitlement to service connection for the cause of his death.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for liver cancer, finding that there is no evidence to support a causal relationship between his in-service exposures and his diagnosed liver cancer. The medical opinion provided by VA concluded that the liver cancer was not caused by or aggravated by any of the conditions listed.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a medical opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's liver, lung, brain, and bone cancers in relation to his service, including exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for liver cancer and cholecystectomy to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors related to toxic exposure risk activities.
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