The veteran's unauthorized medical expenses incurred during his private hospitalization from August 31 to September 5, 1992 are denied as the care or services rendered were not for a medical emergency of such nature that delay would have been hazardous to his life or health.
The deciding factor: VA physicians determined that the veteran's condition was not emergent and could have been safely transferred to a VA facility without undue risk to him, thus not meeting the criteria for payment/reimbursement.
- Claimed conditions
- cauda equina injury with paraparesis of the lower extremities, alcoholic cirrhosis, ascites secondary to cirrhosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- March 30, 2001
- Citation
- 0109664
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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0109664.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied service connection for the cause of death due to alcoholic cirrhosis, as it was not related to the Veteran's military service.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient opinions regarding whether PTSD or an acquired psychiatric disability existed during service and its relation to current conditions, as well as determining if any psychiatric disorder was a substantial or contributing factor in the Veteran's death.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted service connection for alcoholic cirrhosis, finding that it is proximately caused by the Veteran's service-connected PTSD.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has reopened the claim of service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death due to new and material evidence. The case is now remanded for further development, including obtaining VA treatment records from a specific period and seeking an opinion on whether PTSD or an acquired psychiatric disability existed during service and its relationship to current conditions.
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