The Board denied the claim for service connection for alcoholic liver disease, finding that it is a result of the Veteran's own alcohol abuse and thus not compensable.
The deciding factor: Service connection was denied as the Veteran’s alcoholic liver disease resulted from his own alcohol abuse, which is precluded by law.
- Claimed conditions
- alcoholic liver disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 3, 2019
- Citation
- 19125072
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 Board remands the claim for service connection cause of the Veteran's death due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error in the August 2023 VA opinion.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board denied earlier effective dates for the grants of service connection for PTSD with alcohol use disorder, hypertension, and alcoholic liver disease. The claims for service connection for dental/oral disability, broken nose, degenerative arthritis/rheumatoid arthritis, IBS, sinusitis, higher ratings for PTSD with alcohol use disorder, hypertension, and alcoholic liver disease were remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient opinions regarding whether the Veteran's PTSD caused or aggravated his drug abuse, which may have contributed to his cause of death.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the cause of the veteran's death, as none of the disorders that caused his death were present in or related to service or a service-connected disability.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.