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.
The deciding factor: The Board's determination was based on the incorrect application of the new and material evidence standard, which is now governed by a different regulation effective since August 29, 2001.
- Claimed conditions
- Willful Misconduct
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 28, 2006
- Citation
- 0627124
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,464 · Granted: 14% (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 0627124.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
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.
- Granted
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.
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