The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate medical opinion regarding the nature and etiology of the Veteran's liver disease, specifically whether it was aggravated by a service-connected disability.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner's rationale for the secondary service connection finding is insufficient and contradicts his conclusion about aggravation.
- Claimed conditions
- liver disease
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 12, 2022
- Citation
- 22001558
Veterans Law Judge
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 22001558.
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 the Veteran's claims for service connection for cause of death and accrued benefits due to lack of timely filing.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claim for service connection for liver disease, including cirrhosis, MASH, and metabolic syndrome due to inadequate medical opinions. The case is being returned to the AOJ for a new VA examination by a specialist in liver diseases.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the appeals for service connection for various conditions, including type 2 diabetes mellitus and its secondary effects. The Veteran's death during the appeal process means that no decision can be made on these claims.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for liver disease, attributing the denial to a lack of current diagnosis and inconsistency in medical records regarding the Veteran's claimed condition.
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