The veteran's unauthorized medical expenses incurred at a private hospital on September 1, 2003 are denied as there was no feasible VA or Federal facility available and an attempt to use them beforehand would have been reasonable.
The deciding factor: No feasible VA or Federal facility was available for the emergency treatment provided by the private hospital, and an attempt to use a VA facility beforehand would not have been considered reasonable by a prudent layperson.
- Claimed conditions
- closed head injury
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 22, 2006
- Citation
- 0618381
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 0618381.
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
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 10 percent rating for the left knee disability and a 20 percent rating for left knee instability from January 17, 2011, while denying an increased rating for the left ankle.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased evaluations and service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional medical examinations, as well as obtaining VA treatment records and Social Security Administration records. The Veteran is also being asked to provide private medical records from Cleveland Clinic.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied service connection for dizzy spells and headaches, finding that the current symptoms are not related to the in-service episode of vasovagal syncope and closed head injury. The claims for sciatica with scoliosis of the lumbar spine, right knee disorder, left knee disorder, and bilateral foot condition are remanded for further examination.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including thoracic herniated disc, spinal stenosis, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, sleep apnea, erectile dysfunction, a closed head injury, and an acquired psychiatric disorder (posttraumatic stress disorder with depression), all of which were determined to be not attributable to the appellant's period of active duty for training.
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