The Veteran's unauthorized medical expenses incurred at Cape Coral Hospital on August 20, 2008 are approved as the closest VA facility was not feasibly available and no emergency treatment was needed.
The deciding factor: The Board concluded that a prudent layperson would have reasonably expected that delay in seeking immediate medical attention for facial pain and swelling following brain surgery would be hazardous to life or health.
- Claimed conditions
- Facial pain, Swelling
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 21, 2011
- Citation
- 1111161
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 1111161.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's initial rating for his multinodular benign thyroid condition with surgery and hypothyroidism is on appeal, as well as the propriety of a reduction from 60% to zero percent as of July 1, 2022. The Board finds that a remand is necessary to afford the Veteran VA examinations to determine the nature and severity of his thyroid disability and any associated acquired psychiatric disorder.
- Denied
The Veteran's facial pain, claimed as nerve damage, is not considered a qualifying additional disability for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 due to lack of causation and fault on the part of VA.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's cause of death is related to exposure to herbicide agents (Agent Orange) during his service on ships in the Republic of Vietnam.,The Veteran's cause of death may be due to ionizing radiation exposure while serving on the U.S.S. Missouri and U.S.S. New Jersey.,The Veteran's cause of death might be linked to mercury exposure during his service, as suggested by medical literature and personal accounts.,The Veteran's cause of death could potentially be attributed to an undiagnosed illness or a medically unexplained multisymptom illness (MUCMI) due to his Gulf War Service.
- Denied
The Board denied compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for a left leg and/or foot disorder, including foot drop and swelling, caused by VA treatment during the Veteran's March 2012 total knee replacement surgery.
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