The Board has determined that the Veteran's alcohol and substance abuse is related to his service-connected major depressive disorder, resolving all doubt in favor of the Veteran.
The deciding factor: A VA examiner concluded that the Veteran's service-connected major depressive disorder was the cause of his past alcohol and/or substance abuse.
- Claimed conditions
- Alcohol dependence, Cocaine dependence
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 28, 2012
- Citation
- 1222651
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 1222651.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's request for an earlier effective date of July 9, 2009, for a 70% evaluation for PTSD with other specified depressive disorder, cocaine dependence, and marijuana dependence. The Board found that the increase in severity was factually ascertainable on this date.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD with associated depression, major depressive disorder, polysubstance dependence, cocaine dependence, alcohol dependence, and a history of heroine dependence.
- Granted
The Board granted an earlier effective date of November 27, 2013, for the grant of service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder with major depressive disorder, anxiety, and alcohol dependence due to new and relevant evidence.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issues of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder other than PTSD and for PTSD due to outstanding medical records.
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