The Board has determined that the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorders, including persistent depressive disorder and alcohol use disorder, are not service-connected as there is no evidence of an in-service injury or disease related to these conditions. The Veteran's current mental health issues began many years after his military service.
The deciding factor: There was no documented psychiatric injury, disease, or event during the Veteran's active duty service, and the onset of his current psychiatric disorders occurred well after he left the military.
- Claimed conditions
- persistent depressive disorder, alcohol use disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 12, 2019
- Citation
- 19170646
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 19170646.
What this means for you
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- 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.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected PTSD, major depression, generalized anxiety disorder, insomnia and alcohol use disorder caused his sleep apnea.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's service connection for other specified trauma and stressor-related disorder with persistent depressive disorder, anxious distress, and pure dysthymic syndrome was granted. The appeal for PTSD is dismissed as moot because the issue has been rendered irrelevant by the grant of service connection in another appeal stream.
- 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.
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