The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, to include PTSD, finding that his August 1968 motor vehicle accident was caused by his own willful misconduct and therefore not related to service.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran’s in-service August 1968 motor vehicle accident was caused by his own willful misconduct (reckless driving), which precludes him from establishing service connection for any resulting disability, including PTSD.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired psychiatric disability, to include Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 11, 2020
- Citation
- 20078575
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 20078575.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disability, including PTSD, is related to an in-service assault by Dr. K at Fort Rucker and service connection for this condition is granted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for an initial compensable rating for left ear hearing loss and remanded the issue of service connection for PTSD. The decision is binding only with respect to the specific matters decided.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a cerebrovascular accident (stroke) and an acquired psychiatric disability, to include PTSD, finding that the Veteran did not have evidence of these conditions in service or due to exposure to herbicides. The claims were based on direct service connection rather than presumptive exposure.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for gastroesophageal reflux disorder (GERD) and remanded the issues of left foot disability and acquired psychiatric disability, to include PTSD.
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