The Board remands the claim for a medical opinion to address whether the Veteran's in-service hepatitis, if specifically hepatitis C as claimed by the Appellant, contributed substantially or materially to his death.
The deciding factor: The April 2023 VA medical opinion was found inadequate due to its failure to consider all relevant evidence and contentions, particularly regarding the potential for chronic hepatitis C leading to liver disease and cirrhosis in an alcoholic patient.
- Claimed conditions
- hepatitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 16, 2025
- Citation
- A25044160
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 service connection for the Veteran's cause of death due to hepatitis, finding no evidence that it was related to his military service.
- Partly granted
The Board denied the claim for service connection for a dental condition and remanded claims for service connection for hepatitis, an acquired psychiatric disorder, and a left shoulder condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for hepatitis to ensure a VA examination and medical opinion are obtained, addressing potential pre-service exposure and in-service herbicide agent exposure.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for a lung disorder, hepatitis, a low back disorder, residuals following a right leg abscess, and a bilateral foot disorder based on the Veteran's in-service exposures.
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