The appellant's claim for service connection for alcoholism and drug addiction was denied as the law precludes such claims after October 31, 1990.
The deciding factor: The appellant's alcoholism and drug addiction were deemed to be a result of willful misconduct and cannot be service-connected under the law in effect at the time of his claim filing.
- Claimed conditions
- alcoholism, drug addiction
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 2, 2002
- Citation
- 0217372
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 0217372.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the service connection claim for alcoholism as it requires a new opinion to address whether clear and unmistakable evidence demonstrates that the Veteran's alcohol use disorder both pre-existed his active military service and was not aggravated during service.
- Partly granted
The Board granted the application to reopen claims for service connection for alcoholism and psychiatric disability, but remanded the matter of entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder.
- Granted
The Board found that the veteran's Notice of Disagreement (NOD) to the August 2013 rating decision was timely filed, granting the appeal.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the claims for service connection for sleep apnea and alcoholism, as well as denied an increased disability evaluation for sinusitis.
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