The Board has determined that the veteran's death was due to mental unsoundness incurred during active duty, and service connection for the cause of death is granted.
The deciding factor: The act of suicide alone may be sufficient evidence upon which to base a finding of mental unsoundness; unless there is evidence of a reasonable adequate motive for suicide, the act will be considered the result of mental unsoundness.
- Claimed conditions
- mental unsoundness
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 27, 2000
- Citation
- 0019767
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 0019767.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete service and medical records, which may contain information regarding the Veteran's in-service injury. The appellant is seeking service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board is remanding the case to obtain private medical records from a mental health facility where the Veteran was hospitalized shortly before his death, and any law enforcement records related to an investigation into his suicide. The appellant's claim for service connection for the cause of her husband's death will be reconsidered based on this additional evidence.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has found new and material evidence to reopen the claim of service connection for the cause of the veteran's death. The case is being remanded for further review.
- 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.
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