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 assigned
- None in this 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 vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0300876.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.