The Board denied the veteran's claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 for partial loss of voice, finding that there was no evidence of carelessness, negligence, lack of proper skill, error in judgment, or similar instance of fault on the part of VA and that the event was reasonably foreseeable.
The deciding factor: The veteran's hoarseness was a known risk of the procedure and not due to an unforeseeable event. The preponderance of evidence supports no fault on VA’s part and that the injury was a known risk of the surgery.
- Claimed conditions
- partial loss of voice
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- January 22, 2009
- Citation
- 0902335
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,458 · Granted: 24% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0902335.
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.
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- Whole decision: Denied
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- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD is granted as the evidence shows a current diagnosis of PTSD, an in-service stressor, and a medical link between the two.
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