The veteran's alcohol dependency is denied as service connection because it is due to his own willful abuse of alcohol, and secondary service connection for this condition is also not permitted by law.
The deciding factor: Service connection cannot be awarded for the purpose of compensation because the veteran's alcohol dependence is due to his willful abuse of alcohol. Secondary service connection for a non-willful misconduct, service-connected disorder, as defined by the Federal Circuit in Allen v. Brown, 237 F.3d 1368 (Fed. Cir. 2001), is also not permitted.
- Claimed conditions
- alcohol dependency
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 25, 2005
- Citation
- 0520195
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 0520195.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities require care or assistance from another person on a regular basis to protect him from hazards and dangers incident to his daily environment, which has been determined based on the evidence of record. As such, the claim for special monthly compensation based on aid and attendance is granted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board is remanding the claim for an acquired psychiatric condition due to insufficient evidence and a need for a medical examination.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's claims for service connection for alcohol dependency and tobacco dependency have been denied due to the absence of legal merit. The claim for chronic bronchitis is remanded.,Service connection will be granted if the evidence demonstrates that a current disability resulted from an injury or disease incurred in or aggravated by active service.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's claims for service connection for alcohol dependency and tobacco dependency have been denied due to the absence of legal merit. The claim for chronic bronchitis is remanded.,Service connection will be granted if the evidence demonstrates that a current disability resulted from an injury or disease incurred in or aggravated by active service.
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