The Board has reopened the claim of whether the veteran's death was due to his willful misconduct, finding that new and material evidence has been submitted. The decision concludes that the cause of death was the result of the veteran's own willful misconduct.
The deciding factor: New and material evidence has been provided supporting the reopening of the claim based on the appellant's testimony and other lay statements indicating possible involvement of a third party in the accident.
- Claimed conditions
- Willful Misconduct
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 25, 2001
- Citation
- 0119352
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 0119352.
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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's in-service death due to willful misconduct, but denied an earlier effective date for DIC.
- Partly granted
The Board is remanding the case to address whether new and material evidence has been received to reopen a claim regarding injuries sustained on May 13, 1978. The veteran's original claim was denied due to his own willful misconduct.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that new and material evidence had not been presented to reopen the veteran's claim as to whether injuries sustained on May 13, 1978 were the result of his own willful misconduct. The Court found that the Board had erred in adjudicating the reopening question without discussing due process concerns set out in Bernard v. Brown.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to the need for additional development, including obtaining SSA records and providing proper notice regarding secondary service connection.
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