The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for alcohol abuse disorder, drug abuse disorder, and avascular necrosis due to a lack of medical records supporting current disabilities.
The deciding factor: Medical records spanning any part of the appeal period associated with the claims file which reflect that the Veteran actually has the current disabilities claimed are needed before deciding these claims.
- Claimed conditions
- alcohol abuse disorder, drug abuse disorder, avascular necrosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 3, 2019
- Citation
- 19176731
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 19176731.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a duty-to-assist error in the prior VA examination, and the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability is being returned for further evaluation.
- Granted
The Veteran's cause of death is due to complications from chronic alcohol abuse, which the Board finds was caused by or aggravated by an underlying acquired psychiatric disorder (insomnia). The Board grants service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death.
- Dismissed
Your right hip disability, diagnosed as avascular necrosis and degenerative arthritis, has been granted service connection in a separate Board decision. This appeal is dismissed because the issue of your right hip disability was already resolved.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for a higher rating for osteoarthritis and avascular necrosis, left hip, limitation of adduction is dismissed. From August 24, 2019, the Veteran's appeals for ratings of 10 percent for limitation of flexion and extension are granted.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
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.