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
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for all the claimed conditions as there was no evidence of a current disability at any point during the claims period or shortly prior to the claim being filed.
- Partly granted
The Board denied earlier effective dates for the grants of service connection for tinnitus and bilateral hearing loss, obstructive sleep apnea, prostate cancer, hypertension, bronchial asthma with chronic bronchitis, and CAD and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. However, an initial 10 percent disability rating was granted for hypertension.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for further development and to obtain additional evidence, including VA examinations and opinions.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for alcohol abuse disorder, as it is a primary disability and not secondary to any service-connected condition.
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.