The Board granted service connection for depressive disorder with major depressive episodes and alcohol use disorder as secondary to the Veteran's pain arising from his service-connected disabilities.
The deciding factor: The private medical reports provided evidence that the Veteran's acquired psychiatric conditions were caused by the cumulative effect of the pain arising from all of his service-connected disabilities, which was more persuasive than the VA examination findings.
- Claimed conditions
- depressive disorder with major depressive episodes, alcohol use disorder
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 11, 2025
- Citation
- A25051447
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 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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