The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including a substance-induced mood disorder and depressive disorder, as well as secondary service connection to his service-connected disabilities. The evidence did not support direct or secondary service connection.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners determined that the Veteran’s acquired psychiatric disorders were due to his own willful misconduct (drug abuse) rather than any in-service injury, event, or illness.
- Claimed conditions
- substance-induced mood disorder, depressive disorder NOS
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 4, 2019
- Citation
- 19191426
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,374 · Granted: 19% (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 19191426.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the veteran's claimed psychiatric disorders because there was no evidence of a current disorder related to military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a lack of an adequate nexus opinion regarding the Veteran's service connection claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder. A new examination is required to address whether any diagnosed condition is at least as likely as not incurred in or otherwise related to his active service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder is remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining a VA examination and considering all relevant evidence.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for an earlier effective date and rating increase for the Veteran's service-connected psychiatric disabilities due to outstanding treatment records, examination, and development of evidence.
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