The veteran is seeking compensation under the provisions of 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 for complications resulting from his hospitalization and treatment at a VA Medical Center in September to December 1997, including vocal cord impairment, MRSA pneumonia, pulmonary function impairment, brain damage, bowel dysfunction, and muscle tone loss.
The deciding factor: The veteran's claim is remanded due to the need for additional medical records and proper VCAA notice.
- Claimed conditions
- vocal cord impairment, resistant Staphylococcus infection (MRSA pneumonia), pulmonary function impairment, brain cell damage, loss of control of bowel function, loss of muscle tone in the lower extremities
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 5, 2006
- Citation
- 0616299
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,613 · Granted: 30% (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 0616299.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for vocal cord impairment to obtain an adequate medical opinion regarding whether it is caused or aggravated by a service-connected disability.
- Denied
The Board of Veterans' Appeals denied the veteran's claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 due to complications from a September 1997 to December 1997 VA hospitalization, including vocal cord impairment, pulmonary function impairment, brain cell damage, Staphylococcus infection, bowel condition, and loss of muscle tone in the lower extremities.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
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