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Denied

The veteran's claims for compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 for residuals of an exploratory laparotomy and for an operation performed by VA with dentures left in the mouth were denied as there was no evidence that the additional surgical procedures were due to carelessness, negligence, lack of proper skill, error in judgment, or similar instance of fault on the VA's part, nor was it shown that such procedures were not reasonably foreseeable.

The deciding factor: The exploratory laparotomy and subsequent surgeries were performed with the veteran's consent, and there is no evidence to suggest they were due to any fault on the VA's part or that they were not reasonably foreseeable.

Claimed conditions
residuals of an exploratory laparotomy (claimed as an additional operation on the colon and stomach), operation performed by VA with dentures left in the mouth
How they argued it
Direct service connection
Exposure basis
None
Rating assigned
None in this decision
Decision date
May 20, 2008
Citation
0816471

Veterans Law Judge

DENNIS F. CHIAPPETTA

Decisions by this judge: 325 · Granted: 20% (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 0816471.

What this means for you

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