The Board granted service connection for alcohol use disorder as a complication of the Veteran's service-connected generalized anxiety disorder with unspecified bipolar related disorder and assigned an effective date of May 6, 2021, for a 100 percent rating for the combined psychiatric disorders.
The deciding factor: The evidence was at least in approximate balance as to whether the alcohol use disorder is due to or a complication of the service-connected psychiatric disorder, leading to a grant of secondary service connection. The effective date was based on continuous pursuit of the claim and the Veteran's hospitalizations related to his mental health condition.
- Claimed conditions
- alcohol use disorder
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- April 9, 2025
- Citation
- A25033000
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 granted service connection for a liver condition, finding it to be secondary to the Veteran's service-connected depressive disorder.
- Remanded (sent back)
The appeal is remanded for further development and consideration of the Veteran's claims for service connection for various acquired psychiatric disorders.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for a psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD, MDD, and alcohol use disorder, as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected right knee disability and tinnitus.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeal for service connection for a psychiatric disability, including depression, alcohol use disorder, cocaine use disorder, and cannabis use disorder.
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