The veteran's claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 for residuals of fistula surgery due to VA treatment is denied as there is no evidence that the proximate cause of additional disability was carelessness, negligence, lack of proper skill, error in judgment or other fault on the part of VA.
The deciding factor: The veteran's claim lacks competent medical evidence supporting his contention that a machine malfunction during VA surgery caused additional disability. The Board finds that there is no evidence to support such causation.
- Claimed conditions
- fistula
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- March 21, 2006
- Citation
- 0608077
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,582 · Granted: 32% (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 0608077.
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 decided to remand the case due to unresolved issues regarding the Veteran's post-surgical complications and their relation to VA treatment. The case will be reviewed by a non-VA medical expert to provide an opinion on whether the surgeries caused or contributed to the identified rectal disabilities.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's bowel disability is being remanded due to a lack of informed consent documentation for the colonoscopy procedure. The Board will review whether VA's care caused additional disability and provide an updated decision.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient opinions regarding whether the Veteran's anal disability is aggravated by his service-connected hemorrhoids.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding the nature and etiology of the Veteran's hemorrhoids, including any related symptoms such as anemia, external hemorrhoids, fissures, fistula, perirectal abscess, rectal stricture, and pruritis ani.
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