The Board granted an initial rating of 70 percent for Unspecified Depressive Disorder with Alcohol Use Disorder and a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU).
The deciding factor: The Veteran's symptoms, including near-continuous depression affecting his ability to function independently, appropriately and effectively, caused occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas, best approximated at the 70 percent disabling level. Additionally, the Veteran was found unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation due to his service-connected psychiatric disability.
- Claimed conditions
- Unspecified Depressive Disorder with Alcohol Use Disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- June 26, 2025
- Citation
- A25055496
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 896 · Granted: 51% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation A25055496.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board allowed the benefit or issue identified in this decision. Review the original order: other issues in the same appeal may have a different outcome, and this decision does not predict another claim.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the claims for service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder and erectile dysfunction due to lack of jurisdiction, denied an increased rating for depressive disorder with alcohol use disorder, and remanded additional claims for further development.
- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for OSA and granted a 70 percent initial rating for unspecified depressive disorder with alcohol use disorder. The decision found that the Veteran did not have OSA at the time of the December 2019 rating decision, but her psychiatric disability caused deficiencies in most areas of her life.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.