The Board found that the veteran's death was not caused by VA hospital care and medical treatment, as his condition developed due to recurrent Clostridium difficile infections contracted during earlier VA hospitalizations or from antimicrobial therapy prescribed by VA physicians.
The deciding factor: The proximate cause of the veteran's death was not attributable to VA's failure to diagnose or treat a disease or injury, but rather to the development of recurrent Clostridium difficile infections that occurred despite appropriate treatment.
- Claimed conditions
- Pseudomembranous pancolitis, Clostridium difficile infection
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 12, 2007
- Citation
- 0720844
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 0720844.
What this means for you
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's unauthorized medical expenses incurred at Good Samaritan Hospital from October 12, 2012 to October 14, 2012 are denied as the VA has already granted payment or reimbursement for his initial hospitalization due to emergency treatment. The Veteran was determined to be stable and capable of being transferred to a VA facility by October 12, 2012.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran is seeking reimbursement for unauthorized medical expenses incurred at Good Samaritan Hospital. The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding whether the Veteran's condition had stabilized and if he could have been transferred to a VA facility.
- Denied
The Veteran's death was not caused by, or hastened by, the treatment he received in a VA facility between May 2007 and September 2007.
- Denied
The Board found that the veteran's death was not caused by VA hospital care and medical treatment, as the cause of his death (sepsis due to pseudomembranous pancolitis) was reasonably foreseeable and not a result of negligence or fault on the part of VA.
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