The Board has granted the Veteran's claims for service connection for a liver disorder and secondary service connection for alcohol use disorder as secondary to his service-connected persistent depressive disorder.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners provided adequate opinions linking the Veteran’s current diagnoses to his in-service substance abuse, including excessive alcohol use which led to hepatic steatosis.
- Claimed conditions
- alcohol use disorder, chronic hepatitis, fatty liver disease, cirrhosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 10, 2019
- Citation
- 19144767
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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for a liver condition, finding it to be secondary to the Veteran's service-connected depressive disorder.
- Remanded (sent back)
The appeal is remanded for further development and consideration of the Veteran's claims for service connection for various acquired psychiatric disorders.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for right ankle, left ankle, back disability, and other conditions as there is no evidence of a current disability related to the Veteran's military service.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for a psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD, MDD, and alcohol use disorder, as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected right knee disability and tinnitus.
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