The veteran was denied reimbursement for unauthorized medical expenses incurred at St. John's due to a lack of evidence that the care was rendered in response to an emergency situation or that VA facilities were unavailable.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the veteran did not have any adjudicated service-connected disabilities, and that there was no evidence that delay in seeking immediate medical attention would have been hazardous to life or health. Additionally, it was determined that VA or other Federal facilities were feasibly available at the time of treatment.
- Claimed conditions
- abdominal pain
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 22, 2008
- Citation
- 0813233
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 Veteran was granted an effective date of August 29, 2022 for the award of service connection for chest pain and shortness of breath but denied an earlier effective date for abdominal pain. Hemochromatosis remains under review.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for a disability manifested by abdominal/cervical pain, finding that the Veteran's symptoms are related to her service.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeals for service connection and increased rating due to improper concurrent election of review options.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for chronic diarrhea and abdominal pain to ensure the Veteran is afforded a VA examination.
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