The Veteran's claim for service connection for substance abuse is denied as a matter of law because he does not have any service-connected disabilities, and his substance abuse cannot be granted on a direct basis due to the prohibition against granting service connection for alcohol or drug abuse incurred during military service.
The deciding factor: Service connection for substance abuse is barred as a matter of law since the Veteran does not have any service-connected disabilities and his substance abuse is not related to his active duty service.
- Claimed conditions
- Substance Abuse
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 24, 2012
- Citation
- 1206883
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 1206883.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for a rating in excess of 50 percent for acquired psychiatric disorder with major depressive disorder from October 27, 2021 is dismissed. The issue of service connection for substance abuse and entitlement to an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for the period prior to October 27, 2021 are remanded.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for PTSD, including substance abuse and depression, was denied as the effective date of June 6, 2023, is considered the earliest possible effective date given his intent to file on that day.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran seeks a temporary total rating for hospitalization due to PTSD and substance abuse. The RO denied the claim as the treatment period was less than 21 days, but the Board finds this decision non-responsive and remands for further development.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD and Depressive Disorder, finding that new evidence did not establish a nexus between his current psychiatric conditions and military service.
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