The Board denied the veteran's claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 due to a muscle biopsy performed in October 1989 at a private hospital, finding that no VA authorization was provided and concluding that benefits pursuant to 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 are not warranted.
The deciding factor: The Board determined that the veteran's muscle biopsy surgery was based on a referral by a private physician in neurology at the Robert Packer Hospital, which was performed by a surgeon at that facility. Since there is no evidence of any VA authorization for the October 1989 muscle biopsy or that such biopsy was performed on a fee-basis, benefits pursuant to 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 are not warranted.
- Claimed conditions
- Right thigh disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- January 15, 2003
- Citation
- 0300876
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,421 · Granted: 29% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 0300876.
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: Dismissed
The appeal regarding entitlement to an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for GERD is dismissed. The Veteran's appeals for service connection for a right thigh condition, right shoulder condition, and right clavicle scar are denied. The Veteran's claim for service connection for migraines is remanded.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Board dismissed the veteran's appeals for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, cervical spine disability, mental disorder, right thigh disability, tinnitus, and traumatic brain injury due to untimely notice of disagreement. The claims for a heart disability and low back disability were remanded for further development.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and earlier effective dates, finding that the evidence did not support higher ratings or an earlier effective date.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for low back, right thigh, left hip, and right shoulder disabilities due to inadequate VA examinations conducted in January 2021.
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