The Board granted service connection for PTSD with alcohol use disorder, finding the Veteran's current disability is related to his active service including fear of hostile military or terrorist activity while stationed in the Persian Gulf.
The deciding factor: The private medical opinion and VA treatment records provided credible supporting evidence that the claimed stressor occurred and that the Veteran's symptoms are related to the claimed stressor, meeting the criteria for direct service connection under 38 C.F.R. § 3.304(f)(3).
- Claimed conditions
- Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with alcohol use disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- July 9, 2025
- Citation
- A25058799
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an initial increased rating of 70 percent for PTSD with alcohol use disorder and remanded the claims for service connection for pain of the left shoulder, pain of the lumbar spine, and sciatic radicular pains.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for her left and right knee patellofemoral pain syndrome and PTSD with alcohol use disorder, finding that the evidence did not support higher disability ratings.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's appeal for an earlier effective date prior to February 19, 2023, for the award of service connection for PTSD with alcohol use disorder.
- Denied
The Board denied an evaluation higher than 70 percent for PTSD with alcohol use disorder, as the evidence did not show total occupational and social impairment.
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