The Veteran's service connection claim for a left ankle disability due to the July 1987 MVA is denied.,Service connection for osteoarthritis of the lower back and hypertension secondary to PTSD are remanded.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not support a finding that the Veteran's alcohol abuse disorder was proximately caused by or aggravated by his service-connected PTSD, thus denying service connection on this basis.
- Claimed conditions
- Left ankle disability, Osteoarthritis of the lower back, Hypertension (secondary to PTSD), PTSD with major depressive disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 21, 2021
- Citation
- 21064788
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 21064788.
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.
- Granted
The Board has granted the appellant's claim for service connection for left ankle disability residuals, finding that his current condition is due to an in-service injury and granting the benefit of the doubt.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claims for service connection have been dismissed due to their death.
- Denied
The Veteran's appeal for SMC at the housebound rate was denied as he did not have a single service-connected disability rated as 100 percent disabling, and his TDIU based on PTSD with major depressive disorder alone is not sufficient to meet the criteria for SMC at the housebound rate.
- Granted
The Veteran's left ankle disability and headache disorder secondary to PTSD with alcohol use disorder have been granted increased ratings, effective September 16, 2018.
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