The Veteran's claim for payment or reimbursement of unauthorized medical care and services rendered at St. John Medical Center on February 28, 2007 is denied as the VA facilities were deemed feasible and there was no indication of a life-threatening emergency.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the VA facilities were not unfeasible for the Veteran's condition and that he did not present with an acute cardiac emergency. The medical records do not support the claim of a life-threatening situation.
- Claimed conditions
- valvular heart disease, upper back strain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 20, 2010
- Citation
- 1002934
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 1002934.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted a 100 percent rating for valvular heart disease based on MET testing showing that at a workload of 3 METs or less, the condition results in fatigue and breathlessness.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, bilateral cataracts, dry eye syndrome, allergic conjunctivitis, valvular heart disease, cardiomyopathy, and atrial fibrillation as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were incurred in or caused by an in-service event.
- Dismissed
The claim for service connection for valvular heart disease is dismissed as the Veteran was granted a full grant of benefits for coronary artery disease, which is considered a full grant of the benefits sought on appeal.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeal for service connection for supraventricular arrhythmia, chronic paronychia, psoriasis and rosacea (claimed as skin condition), pulmonary nodules, and valvular heart disease.
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