The veteran's claim for payment or reimbursement of medical expenses for non-emergent medical services for a nonservice-connected disability incurred at a non-VA medical facility on May 11, 2005, was denied because the delay in seeking immediate medical attention did not pose a hazard to life or health and a VA facility was feasibly available.
The deciding factor: The delay between the onset of symptoms and seeking treatment did not meet the standard that a prudent layperson would have reasonably expected that delay to be hazardous to life or health, and a VA facility was available for the services provided.
- Claimed conditions
- left foot cellulitis
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 30, 2008
- Citation
- 0814241
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 734 · Granted: 9% (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 0814241.
What this means for you
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea is granted as secondary to his service-connected major depressive disorder with generalized anxiety disorder. The claim for left foot cellulitis remains pending and will be remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to incomplete information from previous examinations, and a new medical opinion is needed to address the Veteran's left foot disorders diagnosed during the appeal period.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the etiology of any current left foot or lower extremity disability, including a neurologic disability. The Veteran's service records indicate cellulitis in his right fifth toe during boot camp, but there is conflicting medical opinion on whether this was also present in his left foot.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not render him unable to secure or follow any form of substantially gainful employment prior to August 3, 2009.
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