The Board granted service connection for major depressive disorder with alcohol use disorder, cannabis use disorder, and cocaine use disorder as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected chronic lumbar strain.
The deciding factor: There was an approximate balance of positive and negative evidence regarding whether the Veteran's psychiatric conditions were secondary to his service-connected back injury, and giving the benefit of the doubt to the Veteran, the Board found that they were.
- Claimed conditions
- cannabis use disorder, cocaine use disorder, major depressive disorder with alcohol use disorder
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 18, 2025
- Citation
- A25024660
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,812 · Granted: 30% (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 A25024660.
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 service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, finding that there is no evidence linking his current condition to his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disability, including schizoaffective disorder, depressive disorder, schizophrenia, alcohol use disorder, and cocaine use disorder, is related to an in-service assault by three fellow servicemembers. The Board has granted service connection for this condition.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for an increased rating in excess of 70 percent for a mental health disorder is dismissed. The Board grants the Veteran a TDIU from September 2, 2019, but no earlier.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for a disability rating in excess of 70 percent for his service-connected psychiatric conditions (panic attacks, generalized anxiety disorder, alcohol use disorder, and cannabis use disorder) was denied. The Board found that the Veteran did not meet the criteria for a 100 percent rating due to insufficient evidence of total occupational and social impairment.
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