The Board has determined that the Veteran's liver disorder, including stage IV liver disease, NASH, hepatocellular carcinoma and cirrhosis, was not incurred or aggravated during service. The evidence does not support a finding of direct service connection.
The deciding factor: There is no medical evidence linking the Veteran’s current liver disorders to his active duty service, including exposure to herbicide agents.
- Claimed conditions
- liver disorder, stage IV liver disease, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), hepatocellular carcinoma, cirrhosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 12, 2021
- Citation
- 21028946
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 21028946.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection for hepatocellular carcinoma, which is secondary to hepatitis C, has been dismissed due to the Veteran's death.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's death was not caused by or substantially contributed to by any service-connected disability, and thus denied the claim for service connection for cause of death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has dismissed the appeal for accrued benefits and has remanded the issue of service connection for cause of death, as there was a duty to assist error related to obtaining a medical nexus opinion regarding in-service herbicide agent exposure.
- 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.
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