The Board denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability and for alcoholism, finding that the veteran's personality disorder is not a disease within the meaning of applicable legislation for compensation purposes, and that his alcoholism may not be established as a matter of law.
The deciding factor: Service connection cannot be granted for a personality disorder or for alcoholism due to the provisions of 38 U.S.C.A. § 105 and 38 C.F.R. § 3.301, which prohibit compensation for disabilities resulting from abuse of alcohol or drugs.
- Claimed conditions
- Personality Disorder, Alcoholism
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 17, 2003
- Citation
- 0324391
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 0324391.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for a personality disorder and remanded claims for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD, and obstructive sleep apnea.
- Denied
The Board denied a disability rating in excess of 50 percent and 70 percent for an acquired psychiatric disability, including PTSD, depressive disorder, trauma and stressor related disorder, personality disorder, alcohol use disorder, and cannabis use disorder.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for PTSD was dismissed due to an improper concurrent election of review options, and the claim for alcoholism was denied as a matter of law.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and a personality disorder due to the lack of evidence supporting a current diagnosis of PTSD and the presence of a diagnosed personality disorder that is not subject to service connection.
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