The Board has determined that the veteran's drug and alcohol dependency is not service-connected due to his own willful misconduct, including abuse of drugs and alcohol. As he does not have any recognized service-connected disabilities, secondary service connection for drug and alcohol dependency is not possible.
The deciding factor: The veteran was discharged from active duty due to misconduct related to drug abuse, which precludes him from receiving compensation for a disability resulting from his own willful misconduct or abuse of drugs and alcohol.
- Claimed conditions
- drug and alcohol dependency
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 14, 2007
- Citation
- 0728869
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 0728869.
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 has remanded the cases for further examination and opinion due to the Veteran's incarceration preventing VA from providing necessary examinations. The issues of service connection are inextricably intertwined with drug and alcohol dependency.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to non-compliance with previous remand directives and requires a new medical opinion on the etiology of the Veteran's drug and alcohol dependency.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded several issues related to service connection and initial ratings for disabilities, including fluoroquinolone toxicity, fibromyalgia, drug and alcohol dependency, cirrhosis of the liver, hepatitis C, and a low back disability. The VA is required to obtain additional medical records and schedule examinations to address the etiology of these conditions.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for drug and alcohol dependency, finding it was a result of the Veteran's own willful misconduct.
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