The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for alcohol and drug dependence and personality disorder, finding that there is no legal basis upon which to establish entitlement to these conditions.
The deciding factor: Service connection may not be granted for substance abuse or personality disorders as a matter of law. The veteran's claim fails because his substance abuse is considered the result of willful misconduct, including alcohol and drug abuse.
- Claimed conditions
- alcohol and drug dependence, personality disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 31, 2006
- Citation
- 0627517
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,555 · Granted: 19% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 0627517.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's acquired psychiatric condition, including personality disorder and PTSD, is granted as service connected. The Board found the evidence sufficient to grant service connection due to a qualifying event in service.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder other than PTSD and depression, finding that his symptoms are adequately accounted for by his existing diagnoses of PTSD and major depressive disorder.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions have been denied as new and relevant evidence has not been submitted to warrant readjudication.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, ADHD, and personality disorder, finding that it is at least as likely as not related to his military service.
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