The Board has determined that the Veteran's appeal for service connection for depression is withdrawn. The claim for a compensable rating for hypertension is granted, with an initial evaluation of 10%. Service connection for alcoholism and right shoulder disability is denied.
The deciding factor: Service connection cannot be established as the Veteran filed his claim after October 31, 1990, when Congress prohibited direct service connection for alcohol abuse. The Board also found that there was no evidence linking the current right shoulder DJD to active service or a resolved condition of bursitis.
- Claimed conditions
- depression, hypertension, alcoholism, right shoulder disability, respiratory condition (asbestos exposure), lower back condition
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- April 12, 2018
- Citation
- 1822001
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 1822001.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's right shoulder disability and migraines/chronic headaches are remanded for additional development due to insufficient opinions on the etiology of her conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including VA examinations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for additional development due to conflicting opinions regarding service connection for peripheral neuropathy, hypertension, and skin disabilities related to herbicide exposure.
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