The Board granted readjudication of the claims for service connection for a substance abuse disorder and an acquired psychiatric disability, to include depression and anxiety, based on new and relevant evidence. The claims for neuropathy of the right upper extremity were remanded.
The deciding factor: The February 2024 VA examiner's opinion was inadequate as it failed to address the Veteran's claims of post-service substance abuse problems and whether his psychiatric disabilities were aggravated by his service-connected right hand disability.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired psychiatric disability, to include depression and anxiety, Neuropathy of the right upper extremity (right hand and arm), Substance abuse disorder
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 4, 2025
- Citation
- A25010168
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 882 · Granted: 22% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 A25010168.
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
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 Veteran's claim for service connection for major depressive disorder with substance abuse disorder, finding new and relevant evidence since the October 2018 denial. The decision also grants a combined claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder with substance abuse.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for an increased disability rating for PTSD with bipolar disorder and substance abuse disorder was granted, effective September 5, 2024. The decision also denied a request for an earlier effective date.
- Remanded (sent back)
The appeal for service connection for a substance abuse disorder and an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include as secondary to the service-connected Hepatitis C disability, is remanded due to inadequate VA medical opinions.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for PTSD, substance abuse disorder, and sleep apnea. The Veteran's left side neck scar was rated at 10 percent prior to April 18, 2018, and 30 percent from that date onward, but these ratings were not increased. Prior to February 12, 2017, the Veteran was granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
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