The VA denied the veteran's claim for additional disability benefits under 38 U.S.C. § 1151, finding that his current condition did not result from carelessness, negligence, or lack of proper skill on the part of VA.
The deciding factor: VA determined that the veteran's current abdominal scar and symptoms were not caused by the April 1996 VA treatment, but rather resulted from natural progression of his pre-existing conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- Gallstones, Perforated appendix
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- February 1, 2006
- Citation
- 0602827
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,555 · Granted: 19% (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 0602827.
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 an acquired psychiatric disorder, hematemesis, hyperekplexia (hyperlexia), bleeding esophagus, erectile dysfunction, gallstones, hepatomegaly and hepatic steatosis, pancreatitis, and sleep apnea due to inadequate VA medical opinions. The Veteran's mental health issues are related to service, but the claims for these conditions will be remanded for a new VA examination.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's upper gastrointestinal disorder, diagnosed as hypertensive gastropathy, is granted secondary to residuals of service-connected infectious hepatitis (B). The issues of gallstones and hepatitis C are remanded for further development.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied service connection for insomnia, fatigue, gallstones, varicose veins, anemia, colitis, and PTSD due to a lack of evidence supporting the claims.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board granted service connection for acid reflux / GERD, colonic diverticulitis, gallstones, diastasis of muscle, BPH, OSA, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and thyroid disease disorder (also claimed as autoimmune thyroid disease disorder), all as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected diabetes mellitus, type 2.
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