The veteran's claim for payment of or reimbursement for expenses incurred at St. Joseph's Hospital due to a fever is denied as he has no adjudicated service-connected disability and the medical emergency did not involve an aggravated service-connected condition.
The deciding factor: The veteran does not meet the statutory requirements for payment of unauthorized medical expenses under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1728(a) because he has no adjudicated service-connected disability.
- Claimed conditions
- esophageal cancer, neutrapenic fever
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 6, 2001
- Citation
- 0103521
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 0103521.
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 Board has granted service connection for the cause of death due to esophageal cancer, which is presumed to be related to exposure to herbicide agents during service in Vietnam.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the Veteran's prostate disability. The claims for esophageal cancer and Barrett's esophagus remain denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the AOJ committed pre-decisional duty to notify and duty to assist errors in denying the DIC claim for the cause of the Veteran's death. The claim must be remanded to allow the AOJ to make a finding regarding whether the Appellant is considered the surviving spouse, as this is a threshold requirement for DIC benefits.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for esophageal cancer, finding that the Veteran's presumed exposure to herbicide agents during his service near the Korean DMZ more likely than not contributed to the development of the condition.
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