The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for alcohol, cocaine, and cannabis abuse and erectile dysfunction (ED), finding that there was no evidence to support these claims. The claim for a disability rating in excess of 50 percent for PTSD was also denied.
The deciding factor: The VA medical opinions found no evidence linking the Veteran's substance abuse or ED to his service-connected PTSD, and the Board agreed with these findings.
- Claimed conditions
- alcohol, cocaine, and cannabis abuse, erectile dysfunction (ED)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- January 23, 2019
- Citation
- 19105603
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 882 · Granted: 17% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 19105603.
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 remanded the claims for asthma, hypertension with residuals including stroke, DM II, bilateral amputation of all toes, and diabetic neuropathy to obtain VA medical opinions regarding the nature and etiology of these conditions.,The Board also remanded the claim for ED as it is inextricably intertwined with the DM II claim.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted effective dates of May 14, 2021 for service connection of residuals of prostate cancer and erectile dysfunction.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for service connection on multiple conditions have been dismissed due to the Veteran's withdrawal of the appeal.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal was dismissed as the November 17, 2025, request for an extension of time to file an appeal from a rating decision issued on May 31, 2024, that denied service connection for DMII, ED, fibromyalgia, IBS, and PTSD was not timely filed.
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