The Board remands the claims for service connection for hepatic steatosis and esophageal varices due to inadequate medical opinions regarding their relationship to active duty, including exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.
The deciding factor: The July 2024 and September 2024 VA opinions were found insufficient as they did not adequately address the Veteran's specific risk factors or apply the correct standard for determining service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- esophageal varices, hepatic steatosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Camp Lejeune water
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 1, 2025
- Citation
- 25005956
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,797 · Granted: 20% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
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 25005956.
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 Veteran's claims for service connection for sleep apnea and hepatic steatosis have been denied. The claim for rheumatoid arthritis is being remanded.,Service connection has not been established for the claimed conditions.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for hepatitis C and its secondary effects on other conditions, including cirrhosis of the liver, diabetes mellitus type II, esophageal varices, hepatic encephalopathy, and splenomegaly.
- Denied
The Veteran's hypertension, erectile dysfunction, sleep apnea, and migraines were all denied increased ratings.,Service connection for hepatic steatosis was granted.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for hepatic steatosis, including as due to exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune, finding that there was no evidence linking his condition to his military service or presumed exposure.
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