The Board found that the veteran's actions resulting in the shooting death of another serviceman constituted willful misconduct, and denied service connection for PTSD because the sole stressor related to service used to support a diagnosis of PTSD was his shooting death of the fellow serviceman.
The deciding factor: The veteran's actions were not in line of duty but amounted to willful misconduct resulting from an incident where he intentionally placed a loaded gun in another soldier's mouth, causing their death. The Board found that this constituted willful misconduct and denied service connection for PTSD based on the shooting incident as the sole stressor.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired Psychiatric Disorder (including Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder)
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 11, 2005
- Citation
- 0518749
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 0518749.
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's acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, is rated at 70 percent since July 13, 2015. Prior to that date, the rating was 50 percent.,The Veteran has been granted TDIU effective July 13, 2015.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's right shoulder condition and acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, are not related to his active service. The evidence does not support a finding of in-service injury or stressor.
- Denied
The Board found that the veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, was not incurred in or aggravated by active service and denied his claim for service connection.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including post-traumatic stress disorder, finding that there was no evidence of a current diagnosis supported by credible supporting evidence and that the preponderance of the evidence did not support the claim.
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