The Veteran's cause of death is being remanded for further evaluation due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding the relationship between his service, including exposure to herbicides and in-service diagnoses, and his cause of death.
The deciding factor: Further medical opinions are needed to determine if the Veteran's cause of death was related to his time in service.
- Claimed conditions
- alcoholic liver disease, fulminant hepatic failure, isoniazid induced hepatitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 20, 2026
- Citation
- A26004678
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 A26004678.
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 found no evidence linking the Veteran's causes of death to service or a service-connected disability, and thus denied the claim for service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board denied earlier effective dates for the grants of service connection for PTSD with alcohol use disorder, hypertension, and alcoholic liver disease. The claims for service connection for dental/oral disability, broken nose, degenerative arthritis/rheumatoid arthritis, IBS, sinusitis, higher ratings for PTSD with alcohol use disorder, hypertension, and alcoholic liver disease were remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence on whether in-service chemical exposure caused or contributed to the Veteran's cause of death, alcoholic liver disease.
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