The Board found that the veteran's injuries were not incurred in the line of duty due to his own willful misconduct, specifically operating a motorcycle at excessive speed and under the influence of alcohol.
The deciding factor: The veteran operated his motorcycle at an excessive speed for conditions while under the influence of alcohol, which was considered his own willful misconduct.
- Claimed conditions
- closed head injury, fracture of the left distal tibia and fibula, fracture of the left clavicle, sinusitis and mastoiditis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 1, 2000
- Citation
- 0014481
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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0014481.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted special monthly compensation based on aid and attendance due to his service-connected disabilities, but denied housebound status and TBI-based SMC.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for vertigo and remanded the other issues on appeal.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for coronary artery disease as secondary to herbicide exposure under the PACT Act. The claims for stroke, epilepsy, and closed head injury are remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to accept the Veteran's VA Form 10182 as a timely Notice of Disagreement in the Legacy review system and will proceed with hearing testimony. However, a remand is required to issue a Statement of the Case (SOC) for both issues.
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