The Board remands the claim for service connection cause of the Veteran's death due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error in the August 2023 VA opinion.
The deciding factor: The August 2023 VA opinion impermissibly ignored lay statements and failed to address whether the Veteran's service-connected disabilities aggravated his alcohol abuse, which is required for a proper determination of service connection for the cause of death.
- Claimed conditions
- hepatitic cirrhosis, with hepatitic encephalopathy, alcoholic liver disease, dementia
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 17, 2025
- Citation
- A25053276
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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for dementia, finding that it was aggravated by the Veteran's service-connected hearing loss disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for dementia, transient ischemic attacks (TIA), and stress, diagnosed as neurocognitive disorder, to secure adequate medical opinions addressing secondary service connection.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for dementia, finding no evidence linking the Veteran's dementia to his service-connected bilateral hearing loss.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for dementia to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors and obtain additional medical evidence.
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.