The Board has determined that the veteran's death by suicide was not caused by his service-connected disabilities, and therefore, service connection for the cause of the veteran's death is denied. Additionally, the criteria for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) pursuant to 38 U.S.C. § 1318 have not been met.
The deciding factor: The suicide was determined to be due to the veteran's own willful misconduct, specifically his failure to appear in court and make arrangements to turn himself into authorities prior to committing suicide.
- Claimed conditions
- Traumatic below the knee amputation of the right leg, Postoperative medial meniscus tear of the left knee with anterior cruciate deficiency, Chronic brain syndrome due to trauma, Left medial malleolus fracture, Right humerus fracture, Right femur fracture, Left major radius and ulnar fracture with scarring of the left forearm and hand, Low back pain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 8, 2006
- Citation
- 0634649
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,013 · Granted: 17% (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 0634649.
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Related decisions
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- Remanded (sent back)
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