The Veteran does not have a current acquired psychiatric disorder other than his service-connected PTSD. The Board finds that the preponderance of evidence is against the claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found no indication that the Veteran has any other psychiatric disorder, and concluded that his anxiety symptoms are part of his service-connected PTSD.
- Claimed conditions
- an unspecified anxiety disorder, alcohol use disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 26, 2019
- Citation
- 19113485
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,350 · Granted: 26% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 19113485.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected PTSD, major depression, generalized anxiety disorder, insomnia and alcohol use disorder caused his sleep apnea.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood, along with alcohol use disorder, has been granted a 100% evaluation effective from April 8, 2021. The disability causes total occupational and social impairment.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and alcohol use disorder, finding that there is no current diagnosis of PTSD and that the Veteran's only diagnosed condition is alcohol use disorder. The Board also found that service connection cannot be granted due to willful misconduct.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for an increased rating for his acquired psychiatric disability and a TDIU due solely to service-connected acquired psychiatric disability are being remanded because the VA did not provide him with a new VA examination, which is a pre-decisional duty to assist error. The Veteran will be scheduled for a VA examination to determine the current severity of his service-connected acquired psychiatric disability.
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