The veteran's gunshot wound to the abdomen was not incurred in the line of duty due to his own willful misconduct. The claim has been reopened with new evidence, but service connection remains pending as it is unclear whether the injury occurred during active service.
The deciding factor: New medical records indicate that the veteran may have had PTSD at the time of the incident, which could potentially be considered in determining whether the injury was willful misconduct or a result of mental unsoundness.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of a gunshot wound to the abdomen
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 16, 2003
- Citation
- 0307360
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 195 · Granted: 24% (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 0307360.
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's residuals of a gunshot wound to the abdomen, finding that it was incurred in the line of duty and is not due to willful misconduct. The claim was reopened based on new evidence provided by the Veteran.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for residuals of a gunshot wound to the abdomen and an acquired psychiatric disorder (to include PTSD and depression) due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded both the DIC benefits pursuant to 38 U.S.C. § 1151 and service connection for the cause of death claims due to insufficient medical opinions addressing the appellant's contentions regarding timely diagnosis and treatment of the Veteran’s UTI, sepsis, and other conditions.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected conditions render him in need of regular aid and attendance, which is granted.
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