The Board has determined that the Veteran's current disabilities are not service-connected due to his own willful misconduct in operating a motorcycle under the influence of alcohol, resulting in an accident and injuries sustained in August 2007.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's injuries were found to be the result of his own willful misconduct and were not incurred in the line of duty.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of traumatic brain injury (TBI), cognitive disorder, not otherwise specified, personality change and polysubstance abuse in remission, mild residual weakness of the muscles of mastication without limited range of motion, fracture T10, central pain syndrome, right hand sprain, costochondritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 23, 2018
- Citation
- 1811019
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 1811019.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal regarding service connection for residuals of TBI has been withdrawn. The cases of service connection for left shoulder and right knee disabilities are being remanded due to a duty to assist error.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for anxiety, depression, teeth grinding, residuals of TBI, sleep disability, breathing disability, and IBS as there was no evidence showing these conditions were incurred or aggravated by military service.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's claim for bilateral hearing loss was denied, but his claims for tinnitus and costochondritis were granted.,The Board has remanded the claims for left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), pericarditis, and myxomatous mitral valve.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed all service connection claims and rating determinations due to the Veteran's withdrawal of his appeal.
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