The Board has determined that the veteran's claims for service connection for alcoholism and drug abuse cannot be granted as such conditions are not considered to have been incurred or aggravated during active military service.
The deciding factor: Service connection for alcohol and drug abuse is prohibited by law due to the provisions of Section 8052 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA) of 1990, which prohibits compensation for disabilities resulting from personal willful misconduct or abuse of alcohol or drugs.
- Claimed conditions
- alcoholism, drug abuse
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- September 17, 2001
- Citation
- 0122594
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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0122594.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding whether the Veteran's alcoholism is secondary to his service-connected adjustment disorder with anxiety and depression.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's claims for service connection for alcohol abuse and drug abuse, as well as a rating in excess of 70 percent for PTSD, were denied. The Board found that the evidence did not meet the criteria for a higher rating or secondary service connection.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's motion to revise an August 2009 rating decision denying service connection for alcoholism (also claimed as depression) on the basis of clear and unmistakable error (CUE), finding no CUE in the original decision.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the Veteran's appeals for service connection of various psychiatric conditions, including substance abuse condition, alcoholism, bipolar disorder, schizoaffective disorder, and severe depression.
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