The Veteran's claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 is granted as the rectourethral fistula with diverting colostomy, cystectomy, and ileal conduit diversion was caused by VA care without his informed consent.
The deciding factor: VA health care providers performed colonoscopies on the Veteran in May 2003 without his informed consent, which resulted in a rectourethral fistula due to radiation damage from prior treatment. The biopsies were not covered by the consent form and the Veteran specifically warned against them.
- Claimed conditions
- rectourethral fistula, diverting colostomy, cystectomy, ileal conduit diversion
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 11, 2009
- Citation
- 0929963
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 0929963.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's appeal for a clothing allowance for 2021 because he is not service-connected for his cystectomy or any related condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that additional remand is necessary due to the lack of independence and qualifications of the examiner, as well as issues regarding causation and foreseeability. The Veteran's claim for compensation under Section 1151 will be remanded for further examination and opinion.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for rectal cancer as secondary to exposure to ionizing radiation and the cause of death due to colorectal cancer. The decision found that there was no in-service exposure to ionizing radiation, and thus, it could not be determined that the Veteran's rectal cancer was caused by his military service.
- Denied
The Veteran's rectourethral fistula and postoperative colostomy were not caused by VA carelessness, negligence, or similar instance of fault during the September 1997 radical prostatectomy for adenocarcinoma of the prostate. The event was reasonably foreseeable.
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