The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for alcohol use disorder, including as secondary to PTSD, due to a lack of evidence showing a current diagnosis of alcohol use disorder and because it is not shown that the Veteran's alcohol use disorder was caused or aggravated by his service-connected PTSD.
The deciding factor: The May 2022 and June 2024 VA examiners opined that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of alcohol use disorder, as he has remained sober since 2012 or 2013 and alcohol use is not a contributing factor to his PTSD symptoms or psychosocial functioning.
- Claimed conditions
- alcohol use disorder
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 14, 2025
- Citation
- A25034219
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
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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