Can the military deny medical coverage to a soldier who was injured due to an alcohol related injury?

If a line-of-duty investigation finds your husbands injuries were related to alcohol, then he will pay the hospital bills and likely get some type of NJP action. Any time off required to recover will be regular leave.

Yes they can.

If you violate a regulation of some type, you can be denied. For example, if you do not wear a seat-belt in a car or not wear a helmet on a motorcycle, they can do it. I have seen investigations done to determine it, but I have never actually seen it denied after the investigation. We had one case in Germany where a Soldier got drunk and fell two stories and ended up with a TBI. They did the investigation to see if it was the Soldier's fault in which case they would have denied coverage since the Soldier was drunk. In the end they covered it, but did investigate the incident to see where the fault was. In this case it was a faulty guard rail but because the Soldier was drunk, the command investigated it.

What it comes down to is weather or not it was "gross neglegence." For example in the case I cited above, since it was the rail that broke, it wasn't gross neglegence. If he had been drunk and standing on top the rail when he fell, it would have been gross neglegence.

So bottom line, they can do it, but I have never seen it followed through on.

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Riding in a the back of a pick up truck is against regulations, all military personnel are required to wear seatbelts, so they do have grounds to deny it. It doesnt mean they will, but they do have grounds for it. Wish I had better news for you.

Yes, we had a guy who broke both of his legs in a DUI; he was single and had to spend a few weeks in a convalscent center. An LOD (line of duty was conducted. Air Force did not pay for the convalscent center.

EDIT: Go to the hospital immediately. Head injuries are nothing to play with; he could have permenant damage. Then call JAG on Monday a.m.

I think we need more information. If an active duty Soldier is injured on duty or off, he/she is entitled to medical care regardless of whether it is alcohol or drug related. They may be DENIED some or all medical benefits AFTER discharge from service because the injury is not service-connected. if the injury is service connected, there should have been an LOD or line of duty determination made. Again, we need more information.

Absolutely..... as stated above, they can launch what is called a "Line of Duty Investigation". They will look at things like:

Was this person briefed and properly informed about the dangers of whatever he was doing?

Was this person doing everything in their power to prevent this from happening? (wearing safety equipment, not drinking and driving etc)

If they can find hard evidence that you blatantly disregarded certain rules/regulations you will pay your own medical bill.

Yes they can. I don't know if it's changed over the years but they have the right to deny coverage to non-duty related injuries.

Yes, they can, if he was drunk at the time and that's the only reason he was injured. They normally only do this to drunk drivers, but your case seems marginal.

I would call TRICARE and contact JAG, as soon as possible. They can't court martial him for ASKING TRICARE if he's eligible, nor for seeking legal counsel from JAG.

I'm sure there is a loophole, but I have never seen the military deny a soldier medical coverage for any reason, EVER.

I've never heard of the military denying any medical coverage to any serviceman for any reason at all. That's one of the benefits of being in the military.

Yes, that's why you sober up and tell them something else happened