The Board determined that the veteran's injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident on January 1, 1966 were due to his own willful misconduct and therefore not incurred in the line of duty. As a result, service connection for residuals of left ear injury and right ring finger injury was denied.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the veteran's intoxication at the time of the accident proximately caused the injuries and thus ruled out any service connection due to willful misconduct.
- Claimed conditions
- Left ear laceration, Right ring finger injury
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 25, 2002
- Citation
- 0208402
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 0208402.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied a compensable evaluation for the Veteran's right ring finger injury residuals, finding that the disability is rated as noncompensable under Diagnostic Code 5230.
- Partly granted
The Board has granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, but remanded the issues of service connection for gout, a right ring finger injury, and a low back disorder due to insufficient medical opinions.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran is entitled to a compensable rating of 10 percent for his service-connected right ring finger disability, which impacts his ability to perform prolonged gripping and grasping activities due to pain. The Veteran's forehead scar is rated as noncompensable.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for payment of or reimbursement for private medical expenses incurred on February 23, 2012, as there was no prior authorization from VA and the treatment did not meet the criteria for emergency services.
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