The Veteran's claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 for residuals, ventral incisional hernia repair was denied as the evidence did not demonstrate carelessness, negligence, lack of proper skill, error in judgment, or similar instance of fault on the part of VA.
The deciding factor: The additional disability was a complication of the original surgery and infection of mesh support, which were not caused by carelessness, negligence, lack of proper skill, error in judgment, or similar instance of fault on the part of VA.
- Claimed conditions
- ventral incisional hernia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 9, 2009
- Citation
- 0904582
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,467 · Granted: 18% (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 0904582.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection and effective date have been remanded due to the complexity of the medical issues involved.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for acquired genetic damage, non-malignant thyroid nodular disease, and esophageal cancer with GERD as well as an initial compensable rating for ventral incisional hernia. The Board found that there was no current disability related to these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has ordered further development due to the need for additional evidence and clarification. The case is now being sent back to the RO for the requested development, including obtaining medical records from the VA Medical Center in Louisville, Kentucky, and arranging for a physician's examination to determine the etiology of the veteran's ventral incisional hernia.
- Denied
The Board of Veterans' Appeals (BVA) has denied the veteran's claim for an increased disability evaluation for his ventral incisional hernia, currently rated at 20 percent. The BVA found that the evidence did not support a higher rating as the veteran's hernia is small and operable.
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