The Board denied service connection for the Veteran's cause of death, which was chronic alcoholism.
The deciding factor: Service connection cannot be granted as there is no evidence of radiation exposure or a service-connected disability that caused or contributed to the Veteran's death. Additionally, primary substance abuse, such as alcoholism, is not service-connected under VA law.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic alcoholism
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 9, 2025
- Citation
- A25087594
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,592 · Granted: 19% (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 A25087594.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection are remanded due to the need for updated VA treatment records and further development regarding his claimed conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided that further evidence is needed to determine if the Veteran's death was caused by his service-connected conditions or if he had an acquired psychiatric disability, such as PTSD, which may have contributed to his alcoholism and cardiovascular disease.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death should be remanded to obtain an opinion regarding whether his acquired psychiatric disorder (likely PTSD) was related to service, if it caused or aggravated his heart condition and alcohol abuse, and if it is related to service.
- Granted
The Veteran's death was caused by alcohol-related liver failure, bleeding from the gut, and lung fluid accumulation. These conditions were not service-connected.
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.