SECTION II. LINE-OF-DUTY INVESTIGATIONS
3-5.
TYPES OF LINE-OF-DUTY INVESTIGATIONS AND/OR DETERMINATIONS
a. Presumptive Determination. This is a determination that an injury, disease, or
death was incurred under circumstances implying line of duty; it does not require a line of
duty investigation.
(1) A presumptive determination is made in cases when the commander and
medical officer have no evidence of misconduct, negligence, or unauthorized absence.
(2) The MTF commander prepares and sends a DA
Form 2173 (Statement of Medical Examination and Duty Status) to the unit commander in
the case of:
(a) Injury involving admission to a hospital.
(b) Injury when a member is being evaluated by a Medical Evaluation
Board for determination of physical and mental fitness for retention on active duty.
(c) When the injured patient was not previously hospitalized for the same
condition or for a previous condition leading directly to the current one.
(d) Death due to natural causes.
(e) Injury or death which was the direct result of the performance of duty
(except b(1) and (3) below).
(f) Death while a passenger in an aircraft.
(g) Disease when there is no evidence of misconduct, doubtful
circumstances, or AWOL.
b. Informal Line of Duty Investigation. An informal investigation consists of unit
and MTF commanders (or doctor or patient administrator) gathering sufficient evidence to
make an LD finding. Final determination of an informal investigation can result in a finding
of in line of duty only, except in cases relating to alcohol or drug abuse. Informal
investigations are recorded on DA Form 2173. Steps for an informal investigation are
covered in the next section. An informal investigation to determine line of duty status is
conducted when there is no AWOL, misconduct, or willful negligence, as in the cases
below:
(1) Injury or death caused by a motor vehicle accident (nonhostile or nonbattle
only).
MD0755
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