The Board has reopened the appellant's claim for service connection for cause of death due to new and material evidence submitted since the final November 1986 rating decision. The Veteran committed suicide while on active duty, but there is no indication that he was of sound mind at the time. The Board finds that his death does not meet the criteria for willful misconduct or drug use resulting in service connection.
The deciding factor: The evidence submitted since the final November 1986 rating decision includes relevant service treatment records indicating the Veteran's mental status prior to his suicide, which was found to be unsound at the time of death. The Board concludes that the Veteran's death does not meet the criteria for willful misconduct or drug use resulting in service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- Suicide
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 29, 2011
- Citation
- 1124630
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 1124630.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's death was ruled a suicide by drowning, and the VA has determined that his service-connected conditions did not cause or contribute to his death. The Board found no evidence linking any in-service psychiatric condition to his later depression and suicide.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient verification of a reported stressor and for further examination if the stressor is verified.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for a new VA opinion to address whether the Veteran's suicide was caused by his use of Methadone prescribed by VA, and if so, whether it was due to negligence or lack of proper skill on the part of VA.
- Denied
The Board found that the veteran did not have a recognized service-connected psychiatric disorder, such as PTSD, involved in his suicide. The appellant's testimony regarding the cause of the veteran's death was deemed insufficient to establish a connection between the suicide and service.
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