The veteran's claim for reimbursement of unauthorized medical expenses is denied because the services were not authorized by VA, and no emergency condition existed that would have required immediate treatment.
The deciding factor: VA did not authorize the private medical care provided on April 29, 2005, and there was no emergency condition requiring immediate attention.
- Claimed conditions
- cellulitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- February 13, 2008
- Citation
- 0805170
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 0805170.
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: Denied
The Board denied service connection for the cause of death due to lack of evidence showing a link between any service-connected disability and the Veteran's death. The conditions listed on his death certificate were not related to his military service.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current disability of cellulitis and there is no recent diagnosis prior to his claim. Therefore, service connection for cellulitis is denied.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to inadequate medical opinions and needs further development.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for lumbar spine disability, dermatitis, cellulitis, IBS, diverticulitis, hiatal hernia (GERD), and respiratory disability due to potential service connection based on in-service exposures. The VA must obtain updated medical opinions addressing these issues.
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