The Board denied service connection for a psychiatric disability, to include PTSD, alcohol use disorder, substance use disorder, substance-induced depressive disorder, and substance-induced anxiety disorder.
The deciding factor: The weight of the evidence supports a finding that the Veteran's alcohol and other substance use disorders were primary disabilities resulting from alcohol and drug abuse consistent with willful wrongdoing and not secondary to another psychiatric disability.
- Claimed conditions
- Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Alcohol use disorder, Substance use disorder, Substance-induced depressive disorder, Substance-induced anxiety disorder, Sleep apnea
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 3, 2025
- Citation
- 25008785
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.
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The Board granted service connection for chronic headaches, CFS, dermatosis, bilateral RLS, a lumbar spine disability, and sleep apnea but denied a compensable evaluation for allergic rhinitis.
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The Board granted service connection for PTSD, resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor and finding that his PTSD is related to an in-service military sexual trauma (MST) during a period of ACDUTRA.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of May 17, 2019, for a 70 percent disability rating for PTSD but denied earlier effective dates for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.
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