The Board denied service connection for the cause of death, finding that the Veteran's primary alcohol use disorder and tobacco use disorder were the causes of his death.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not show a causal relationship between the Veteran's service-connected disabilities and his death; instead, it showed that his primary alcohol use disorder and tobacco use disorder caused his death.
- Claimed conditions
- Primary alcohol use disorder, Tobacco use disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- February 27, 2025
- Citation
- A25018164
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,199 · Granted: 25% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation A25018164.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board granted a 70 percent disability rating for PTSD with opioid use disorder, sedative-hypnotics use disorder, alcohol use disorder, and tobacco use disorder due to the Veteran's occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Board denied an initial disability rating in excess of 70 percent for PTSD but granted TDIU and DEA effective from October 13, 2017.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's service-connected psychiatric disorder, including major depressive disorder and tobacco use disorder, was found to meet the criteria for a 100% disability evaluation effective November 9, 2020.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected disability, and therefore denied entitlement to service connection for cause of death.
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