The Board has granted service connection for opioid use disorder on a secondary basis to the Veteran, finding that his service-connected back disability and radiculopathy aggravated his opioid use disorder beyond its natural progression.
The deciding factor: Two VA opinions concluded that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities (back disability and radiculopathy) aggravated his opioid use disorder beyond its natural progression from a mild or none baseline.
- Claimed conditions
- Opioid Use Disorder, Back Disability (Lumbar Spine)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- June 29, 2018
- Citation
- 18115258
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 18115258.
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 Veteran's claims for earlier effective date, increased rating for PTSD, and TDIU have been denied. The Board found that an earlier effective date is not warranted due to the lack of evidence showing entitlement to a temporary total disability rating prior to October 29, 2020. For the entire period on appeal, the Veteran's service-connected disabilities precluded him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected posttraumatic stress disorder and opioid use disorder are rated at 70 percent, but the Board denied an increase to a higher rating.
- Granted
The Veteran's eligibility for VA home loan guaranty benefits is granted due to her service-connected disabilities, including PTSD and depression, which were incurred during her Reserve service.
- Granted
The Veteran was granted a temporary total rating of 100% for hospital treatment due to PTSD, opioid use disorder, and alcohol abuse disorder from December 26, 2018, through October 28, 2019. The treatment was required as part of a court-ordered agreement.
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