The Board denied the Veteran's claim for reimbursement of unauthorized medical expenses due to lack of a medical emergency and unavailability of VA facilities, despite the Veteran preferring private treatment.
The deciding factor: The preponderance of evidence showed that the Veteran could have used VA facilities instead of seeking treatment at a private facility, which was not deemed unreasonable or impracticable given the proximity of the Cleveland VAMC to his appointments.
- Claimed conditions
- left hand injury
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- December 4, 2012
- Citation
- 1241361
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 1241361.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the character of the Appellant's discharge is a bar to VA benefits, and thus did not address his service connection claims. The case is being remanded for the AOJ to obtain missing records related to the special court-martial and complete a new determination on the character of the discharge.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for left hand injury to obtain additional evidence and a more thorough medical opinion.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied service connection for the veteran's left hand injury, left foot condition, right foot condition, left ankle strain, and right ankle strain. The evidence did not show a current diagnosis or symptoms related to these conditions.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's left hand injury is determined to be a result of his military service, and the Board has granted service connection for this condition.
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