Service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder (depression) is granted.,Secondary service connection for alcohol use disorder in sustained remission, as secondary to depression, is granted.
The deciding factor: The evidence supports both direct and secondary service connection for the Veteran's conditions. The Board grants direct service connection based on a current diagnosis of an acquired psychiatric disorder (depression) that began during military service.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired psychiatric disorder (depression), Alcohol use disorder in sustained remission
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- May 4, 2021
- Citation
- 21027197
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 21027197.
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 Board denied the Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for service connection of major depressive disorder, recurrent and moderate, with anxious distress and alcohol use disorder in sustained remission, as the evidence did not indicate that a prior claim was received before November 30, 2020.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for additional VA treatment records and an addendum opinion regarding his acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection are remanded due to inadequate verification of in-service exposure and the need for additional VA examinations.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for avascular necrosis of the bilateral shoulders and hips, an acquired psychiatric disorder, and neurological impairments of various extremities as they were not causally related to the Veteran's in-service exposure to herbicide agents.
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