The Board granted service connection for chronic adjustment disorder with depressed mood and alcohol use disorder, both secondary to the Veteran's service-connected disabilities. The Board also granted service connection for left shoulder impingement syndrome as secondary to the Veteran's right shoulder disability.
The deciding factor: The evidence supports that the Veteran's mental health conditions are proximately due to or aggravated by his service-connected disabilities and that his left shoulder condition is related to overuse from compensating for his service-connected right shoulder disability.
- Claimed conditions
- alcohol use disorder, chronic adjustment disorder with depressed mood, left shoulder impingement syndrome
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- March 20, 2025
- Citation
- A25025947
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,113 · Granted: 47% (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 A25025947.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected PTSD, major depression, generalized anxiety disorder, insomnia and alcohol use disorder caused his sleep apnea.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood, along with alcohol use disorder, has been granted a 100% evaluation effective from April 8, 2021. The disability causes total occupational and social impairment.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and alcohol use disorder, finding that there is no current diagnosis of PTSD and that the Veteran's only diagnosed condition is alcohol use disorder. The Board also found that service connection cannot be granted due to willful misconduct.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to a duty to assist error. The VA will obtain new opinions from different VA examiners to address whether the Veteran's conditions were incurred or aggravated by his military service, including exposure during combat.
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