Citation Nr: 21009142 Decision Date: 02/19/21 Archive Date: 02/19/21 DOCKET NO. 19-29 071A DATE: February 19, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for liver condition as secondary to type II diabetes mellitus is granted. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran's liver condition is caused by his service-connected type II diabetes mellitus. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for liver condition as secondary to service-connected type II diabetes mellitus are met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.310. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from September 1968 to November 1965. These claims come before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from rating decision issued in October 2018 by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Veteran’s representative has also provided a waiver of agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) consideration of evidence added to the record since the June 2019 SOC. In February 2021, the Veteran testified at a videoconference hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge. This decision is being prepared under the Board's “one touch” hearing program; a copy of the transcript of that hearing will be added to the Veteran’s file in the normal course of business. The Veteran contends that his liver condition is caused or aggravated by his service-connected type II diabetes mellitus. Service connection may be granted for disability resulting from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. The three-element test for service connection requires evidence of: (1) a current disability; (2) in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a causal relationship between the current disability and the in-service disease or injury. Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163 (Fed. Cir. 2004). Service connection also may be established on a secondary basis for disability that is proximately due to, the result of, or being aggravated by a service-connected disease or injury. 38 C.F.R. § 3.310; Allen v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 439 (1995). 2019 private treatment records show the Veteran has a current cirrhosis of the liver disability. Evidence in support of the claim includes a September 2019 statement from a Hepatology Nurse Practitioner noted the Veteran’s diagnosis of cirrhosis from nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). NASH is most common in people who have diabetes or are obese. The Veteran is not obese, so “in his case Type 2 diabetes lead to him developing NASH.” In an October 2019 statement, the Veteran’s treating hepatologist provided a similarly positive opinion. That the Veteran has a diagnosis of NASH,; the two causes of which are obesity and diabetes; however, the Veteran is not obese, but is diabetic. The Veteran’s diabetes is the most likely cause of his diagnosed NASH. Evidence against the claim includes an October 2018 VA opinion that concluded the Veteran did not have any complications related to his diabetes. The Board affords that opinion little probative value because it did not specifically address the Veteran’s liver disability. Upon review of the record, the Board finds service connection for the claimed liver disability, as caused by the Veteran’s service-connected type 2 diabetes is warranted. . M.E. Larkin Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board S.E. Bresler, Associate Counsel The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.