The Veteran's unauthorized medical expenses incurred for back surgery in March 2002 were not covered because the care was not rendered due to a medical emergency, and VA facilities were feasibly available.
The deciding factor: The medical emergency did not exist at the time of the surgery as evidenced by pre-operative testing performed four and five days prior to the procedure.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Bronchial asthma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 1, 2010
- Citation
- 1007588
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 1007588.
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 Board granted service connection for PTSD, resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor and finding that his PTSD is related to an in-service military sexual trauma (MST) during a period of ACDUTRA.
- Partly granted
The Board granted readjudication of previously denied claims for service connection for PTSD and COPD, while remanding other issues including entitlement to service connection for an eye disorder, hypertension, tinnitus, a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, TDIU, and an initial rating for PTSD.
- Granted
The Board grants service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) based on the Veteran's combat experiences in Southwest Asia.
- Partly granted
The Board denied increased ratings for bilateral hearing loss, right inguinal hernia, non allergic rhinitis, sinusitis, and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), while granting service connection for left knee strain and left leg shin splints.
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