The Board denied service connection for alcohol dependence as secondary to post-traumatic stress disorder, and also denied the claim of service connection for the cause of the veteran's death. The decision is not considered clear and unmistakable error.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not establish a medical nexus between the veteran's service-connected post-traumatic stress disorder or any other service-connected disability and his alcohol abuse.
- Claimed conditions
- Post-traumatic stress disorder, alcoholic cirrhosis
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 7, 2000
- Citation
- 0009398
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 0009398.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's post-traumatic stress disorder is rated at 100 percent effective November 21, 2019, due to total occupational and social impairment.
- Dismissed
The appeal was dismissed due to the Veteran's death during the pendency of the appeal.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for further development and evidence collection, as some relevant private treatment records have not been obtained.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for an increased rating in excess of 70 percent for post-traumatic stress disorder and in excess of 10 percent for degenerative changes of the left talus bone to obtain relevant outstanding VA treatment records and to schedule additional examinations.
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