BVA9501597 
DOCKET NO.  93-04498      )       DATE
          )
          )

On appeal from the decision of the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Nashville,
Tennessee

THE ISSUE

Whether new and material evidence has been submitted to show that
the injuries sustained by the veteran in a motor vehicle accident
on April 8, 1988, were not due to his own willful misconduct.

REPRESENTATION

Appellant represented by: Paralyzed Veterans of America,
Inc.

WITNESSES AT HEARING ON APPEAL

The veteran and his sister

REMAND

The veteran had active duty from January 1964 to December 1965.

The veteran sustained cervical spine injuries in a one-car
accident while traveling on Highway 108 in Whitwell, Tennessee,
on April 8, 1988. The offical police report of that accident is
not of record. To ensure that the Department of Veterans Affairs
(VA) has met its duty to assist the claimant in developing the
facts pertinent to the claim and to ensure full compliance with
due process requirements, the case is REMANDED to the regional
office (RO) for the following development:

The RO should obtain a legible copy of the
complete police report concerning the April
8, 1988, accident, to include all documents
concerning blood alcohol testing.

Thereafter, the case should be returned to the Board, if in
order.  The Board intimates no opinion as to the ultimate outcome
of this case.  The veteran need take no action unless otherwise
notified.

          WAYNE M. BRAEUER
          Member, Board of Veterans' Appeals

The Board of Veterans' Appeals Administrative Procedures
Improvement Act, Pub. L. No. 103-271, § 6, 108 Stat. 740, ___
(1994), permits a proceeding instituted before the Board to be
assigned to an individual member of the Board for a
determination.  This proceeding has been assigned to an
individual member of the Board.

Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (West 1991), only a decision of the
Board of Veterans' Appeals is appealable to the United States
Court of Veterans Appeals.  This remand is in the nature of a
preliminary order and does not constitute a decision of the Board
on the merits of your appeal.  38 C.F.R. § 20.1100(b) (1993).