The Board has granted service connection for major depressive disorder and denied service connection for substance abuse disorder. The decision on the latter issue is due to remand as there is no current diagnosis of a substance abuse disorder.
The deciding factor: There is no current diagnosis of a substance abuse disorder in the Veteran's records, which are consistent with his statements that he has not used substances at any point during or proximate to the appeal period.
- Claimed conditions
- major depressive disorder, substance abuse disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 25, 2020
- Citation
- 20043244
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 20043244.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for specially-adapted housing assistance and a special home adaptation grant was denied because he does not meet the criteria for either benefit based on his service-connected disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and major depressive disorder, is being remanded due to the need for additional development regarding his alleged stressors.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder and major depressive disorder has been dismissed as the appellant requested withdrawal of the appeal.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided that the Veteran's service connection claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, should be remanded due to a failure to verify a stressor related to the death of his two best friends in Iraq. The AOJ needs to develop this stressor.
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