Myore v. Brown
United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims
9 Vet. App. 498 (1996)
- Written by Carolyn Strutton, JD
Facts
Kenneth Myore was an active-duty United States Marine on leave when he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head. Myore had been drinking with a group of people at a friend’s house overnight, for approximately 10 hours, before he picked up an unloaded revolver around 5:00 am. Myore loaded a bullet into the gun, spun the cylinder, put the gun to his head, and pulled the trigger. The gun did not fire, but when Myore repeated the same actions a second time, the gun did fire, and Myore died hours later. Evidence established that Myore knew the weapon was loaded, but the evidence failed to conclusively establish his level of intoxication or whether his intention was to commit suicide. The medical examiner ruled the cause of death as suicide, however. Myore’s widow, Martha Myore (plaintiff) filed a claim with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) (defendant) for survivors’ benefits. The VA denied her claim, holding that Myore’s death resulted from his own willful misconduct. Martha appealed the VA’s decision to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (the board). The board upheld the VA’s decision, and Martha appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Steinberg, J.)
Dissent (Ivers, J.)
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