The Board found that the Veteran's current psychiatric disorders are not related to his service-connected acne vulgaris and denied his claim for service connection.
The deciding factor: VA examiners determined that the Veteran's mood disorder is alcohol-induced or substance-induced, unrelated to his service-connected acne vulgaris.
- Claimed conditions
- social phobia, alcohol-induced mood disorder, substance-induced mood disorder
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- September 4, 2015
- Citation
- 1538081
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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 1538081.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a failure to properly characterize and address all psychiatric conditions, including alcohol use disorder. The Veteran's service records indicate he had longstanding mental health issues and behavioral changes between his tours of duty.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and social phobia, has been granted a 100% disability rating effective February 16, 2017. The appeal for TDIU prior to December 12, 2019 is mooted due to the grant of a higher disability rating.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to new evidence received since the last decision, including VA treatment records and examination reports. The AOJ should review all of this evidence before readjudicating the claims.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied service connection for psychiatric disability, including PTSD and other conditions, finding no credible in-service stressor and insufficient evidence linking current diagnoses to military service.
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