The Veteran died from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident while on active duty. The RO found that the death was not incurred in the line of duty due to willful misconduct and alcohol abuse. The appellant argues for service connection based on her claim that the Veteran's death was caused by his psychiatric disorder, which she claims is related to service.
The deciding factor: The appellant has not provided evidence showing a psychiatric disorder in service that caused the Veteran's alcoholism and subsequent death from the motorcycle accident injuries.
- Claimed conditions
- Alcoholism, Motorcycle accident injuries
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 8, 2009
- Citation
- 0921370
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 0921370.
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 Veteran's claim for payment or reimbursement of non-VA medical expenses incurred due to a motorcycle accident is granted, as all criteria under VA regulations are met.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for PTSD was dismissed due to an improper concurrent election of review options, and the claim for alcoholism was denied as a matter of law.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an earlier effective date for the award of service connection for PTSD beginning March 16, 2010 and denied a motion for revision of an August 2007 rating decision on the basis of clear and unmistakable error (CUE). The Board also granted service connection for alcoholism, major depressive disorder, congestive heart failure, cardiomyopathy, sleep apnea, and increased ratings for PTSD.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claim of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder due to a lack of a VA medical examination and opinion prior to rating his disability. The Veteran is diagnosed with multiple psychiatric disabilities, including depression, anxiety, irritability and anger, trauma/stressor-related disorder, and alcoholism. The Board requires a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of these conditions.
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