The Board has granted service connection for a liver disability, finding that the Veteran's alcohol use disorder was caused by or aggravated by his service-connected PTSD.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found it not possible to definitively state whether the Veteran's PTSD caused his alcohol use disorder, but acknowledged multiple risk factors including his traumatic memories from Vietnam and job loss. The Board considered these factors and concluded that the evidence is at least in equipoise as to whether the Veteran's PTSD caused or aggravated his liver disability.
- Claimed conditions
- Liver disability
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 3, 2021
- Citation
- 21011907
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 21011907.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's liver disability has not resulted in any compensable symptoms, as he had a previous history of liver disease but is currently asymptomatic.,The Veteran's left ear hearing loss has been rated at noncompensable level due to the absence of more than Level I hearing acuity.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a liver disability as there was no evidence of a current disability at the time of filing or during the pendency of the claim.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various disabilities, including sinusitis, lung disability, liver disability, kidney disability, sleep apnea, shoulder disabilities, peripheral neuropathy of the extremities, and flatfoot, as there was no evidence to support a link between these conditions and the Veteran's active military service.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a liver disability due to the lack of evidence showing a current liver disability.
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