The veteran's claim for payment or reimbursement of unauthorized medical service for a non-service connected heart attack at a non-VA facility from December 23, 2001 through December 25, 2001 was denied because he had not received treatment at a VA facility within the 24 months prior to the emergency treatment.
The deciding factor: The veteran did not meet one of the necessary criteria for reimbursement under 38 C.F.R. § 17.1002 due to lack of enrollment in the VA health care system within the 24-month period preceding the furnishing of such emergency treatment.
- Claimed conditions
- heart attack
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- May 28, 2003
- Citation
- 0310237
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,419 · Granted: 21% (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 0310237.
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: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for sleep apnea, headaches, alcohol use disorder (claimed as depression/anxiety), hypertension, and heart attack due to potential service connection based on aggravation of a pre-existing condition or secondary to other service-connected disabilities. Additional medical opinions are required regarding the nature and etiology of these conditions.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for coronary artery disease is remanded due to the need for a medical opinion regarding exposure to burn pits during his military service.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for earlier effective dates for the award of service connection and increased rating for ischemic heart disease was dismissed as it is not a valid freestanding claim.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the cause of death and its relation to service. The Appellant needs to provide additional private treatment records, and a VA clinician will need to review these records to determine if the Veteran's cause of death was misdiagnosed or related to in-service exposure at Camp Lejeune.
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