The Veteran's claims for service connection for a sleep disorder and alcohol abuse as secondary to PTSD are denied. The Veteran is granted service connection for headaches, with a 10% rating prior to June 16, 2011, and a 30% rating thereafter. Service connection for PTSD is granted at various levels of severity from June 7, 2008, to December 28, 2015.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's claims were denied as there was no evidence of a current diagnosis of a sleep disorder or alcohol abuse independent of his service-connected PTSD. The Veteran is granted service connection for headaches with the lower rating being appropriate given the frequency and severity of his symptoms prior to June 16, 2011.
- Claimed conditions
- Sleep Disorder, Alcohol Abuse
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- August 8, 2017
- Citation
- 1731935
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 1731935.
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: Granted
The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is granted as service-connected. The claims for alcohol abuse and psychiatric disorder are remanded for additional development, including a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of these conditions.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for PTSD with alcohol abuse was granted, and the Board determined that a 70 percent evaluation is warranted based on occupational and social impairment.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims of service connection for COPD and Sleep Disorder due to insufficient development, including a lack of VA examinations or medical opinions assessing these conditions. The RO must provide such assessments.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's PTSD, alcohol abuse, and sleep disturbances were reduced from a 70 percent rating to a 50 percent rating effective September 1, 2020. The Board found that the evidence did not show an improvement in his ability to function under ordinary conditions of life and work or in the overall frequency and severity of his symptomatology.
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