The Board has determined that the Veteran's paraplegia was not proximately due to his service-connected PTSD, but rather was caused by his own willful misconduct. Therefore, the claim for service connection is denied.
The deciding factor: The April 2016 VA examiner found that the Veteran's actions leading up to the police shooting were less likely as not caused by his service-connected PTSD and at least as likely as not due to his own willful misconduct.
- Claimed conditions
- paraplegia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- December 6, 2016
- Citation
- 1645970
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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 1645970.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for neurogenic bowel, bladder, and paraplegia as secondary to her service-connected lumbar strain. The AOJ must obtain additional opinions addressing whether these conditions are aggravated by the service-connected condition.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the Veteran's cause of death, including gram negative bacteremia, paraplegia, tracheostomy or intracerebral hemorrhage is related to his service-connected migraine headaches condition. The matter is REMANDED for further action.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted service connection for paraplegia as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected renal cell carcinoma.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a pre-decisional error regarding where the Veteran resided since June 1, 2017. The AOJ needs to determine this and adjust the benefits accordingly.
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