The Board has remanded the claim of service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death due to insufficient evidence and a need for additional medical opinions. The Appellant requested to withdraw other claims, which have been dismissed.
The deciding factor: The Veteran died from hepatic failure, but there is not enough information in the record to determine if his service-connected hepatitis was the principal or contributory cause of death.
- Claimed conditions
- hepatic failure
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 1, 2022
- Citation
- 22043611
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 22043611.
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 Veteran's cause of death was not caused by a disability incurred or aggravated in service, and the Board denied the claim for service connection.
- Granted
The Veteran's cause of death was respiratory failure caused by hepatic failure, hepatocellular cancer, and chronic hepatitis C infection.,Service connection for the cause of death is granted as his alcohol and substance abuse were secondary to his service-connected PTSD.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of death due to lack of evidence showing a link between in-service exposure and the Veteran's liver cancer, which was diagnosed after his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's cause of death, hepatic failure due to or as a consequence of metastatic adenocarcinoma of the small bowel, is granted service connection based on presumed exposure to herbicide agents during his Vietnam service.
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