The veteran is entitled to payment or reimbursement for unauthorized medical expenses incurred at Manatee Memorial Hospital from January 17, 2001 to June 29, 2002 due to the severity of his symptoms and the lack of feasibly available VA facilities.
The deciding factor: The veteran's symptoms were severe enough that a prudent layperson would have reasonably expected delay in seeking medical attention to be hazardous. Additionally, the nearest VA facility was approximately 35 miles away, while the Manatee Memorial Hospital was only about 10 miles from his home.
- Claimed conditions
- rheumatic heart disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 60%
- Decision date
- July 16, 2008
- Citation
- 0823534
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 0823534.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The veteran's claim for service connection for rheumatic heart disease was granted. The claim for hypertensive vascular disease was remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for glaucoma, Parkinson's disease, and dementia due to potential TERA exposure. The rating for bilateral hearing loss is also being remanded.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for an earlier effective date prior to November 2, 2017, and higher ratings for his heart disability and bilateral knee disabilities have been denied. The Board found that the earliest possible effective date is November 2, 2017, when VA received the claim after final disallowance. For the knee disabilities, the evidence did not show limitation of flexion to less than 30 degrees or more exacerbations per year.
- Granted
The Veteran's rheumatic heart disease with coronary artery disease, status post stent placement is rated at 60 percent effective April 20, 2023.
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