The Board found that the veteran's disabilities do not render him unemployable due to his alcohol and substance abuse, which led to periods of unemployment. The veteran was therefore denied a permanent and total disability rating for pension purposes.
The deciding factor: The veteran had a history of alcohol and substance abuse leading to unemployment, which precluded him from securing and following substantially gainful employment.
- Claimed conditions
- Headache disorder, Alcohol dependence, Gunshot injury to left ring finger, Migraine disorder, Cirrhosis of liver, Kidney stone, Pulmonary disease (chronic productive cough, dyspnea on exertion)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 24, 2001
- Citation
- 0111891
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 0111891.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, chronic rhinitis, and obstructive sleep apnea. The headache claim was remanded for further examination.
- Granted
The Veteran was granted a rating of total disability due to individual unemployability (TDIU) based upon service-connected disorders effective July 20, 2022, and basic eligibility to Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) pursuant to 38 U.S.C. chapter 35 for the same effective date.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for a total disability rating due to individual unemployability (TDIU) as it was not factually ascertainable that he was unable to obtain or maintain substantially gainful employment prior to April 28, 2016.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder and cirrhosis of liver as secondary to an acquired psychiatric disorder due to inadequate VA examination opinions.
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