The Board granted service connection for alcohol use disorder as secondary to PTSD and remanded the claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder other than PTSD and alcohol use disorder.
The deciding factor: Alcohol use disorder is proximately due to PTSD, as evidenced by the Veteran's use of substances in an attempt to manage emotion distress associated with traumatic experiences during service.
- Claimed conditions
- alcohol use disorder, depressive disorder not otherwise specified (NOS)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- October 30, 2025
- Citation
- A25094505
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,772 · Granted: 37% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation A25094505.
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 Veteran's service-connected adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood, along with alcohol use disorder, has been granted a 100% evaluation effective from April 8, 2021. The disability causes total occupational and social impairment.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected PTSD, major depression, generalized anxiety disorder, insomnia and alcohol use disorder caused his sleep apnea.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and alcohol use disorder, finding that there is no current diagnosis of PTSD and that the Veteran's only diagnosed condition is alcohol use disorder. The Board also found that service connection cannot be granted due to willful misconduct.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for PTSD and alcohol use disorder due to an error in notifying the Veteran of his right to a pre-decisional hearing before the AOJ.
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