The Board has determined that the Veteran's low back disorder and head trauma are due to his own willful misconduct, resulting in a denial of service connection for these conditions.
The deciding factor: The preponderance of evidence shows that the Veteran's current low back disorder and head trauma were proximately caused by his fall from a two-story building during active duty, which was the result of his own willful misconduct due to alcohol abuse.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative arthritis of the spine (low back disorder), Head trauma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 6, 2014
- Citation
- 1444275
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 1444275.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to duty-to-assist errors and insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's claimed TBI. The AOJ is directed to obtain private medical records and any SSA disability benefits documentation.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, and remanded the claims for a left knee disorder, right knee disorder, low back disorder, and right lower extremity radiculopathy.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for his degenerative arthritis of the spine is remanded due to a need for additional medical examination and analysis.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have any diagnoses relevant to the claimed right hip injury, sleep difficulties, or head trauma. Therefore, service connection for these conditions is denied.
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