The Board denied the veteran's request for payment or reimbursement of unauthorized medical expenses incurred at Tampa General Hospital due to lack of a medical emergency and unavailability of VA facilities, despite his service-connected disability.
The deciding factor: VA facilities were feasibly available but not used before transfer to private hospital.
- Claimed conditions
- status post anterior wall myocardial infarction (MI)
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 30%
- Decision date
- March 19, 2004
- Citation
- 0407308
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 0407308.
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
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.