The Board found that the non-VA medical treatment provided on June 25, 2009 was not authorized by VA and did not meet the criteria for emergency treatment. Therefore, payment or reimbursement of the expenses is denied.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's headache was not shown to be an emergent condition requiring immediate medical attention as defined by applicable law.
- Claimed conditions
- depressive disorder, status post radical mastoidectomy secondary to cholesteatoma of the left ear with persistent vertigo, tinnitus, and deafness, varicocele of the right testicle, damage to right ilioinguinal nerve, left facial palsy, residuals of a left wrist ganglion excision, residuals of a right wrist ganglion excision
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 2, 2013
- Citation
- 1314463
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 1314463.
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's vascular headaches are granted effective August 22, 2011. A TDIU is granted effective February 11, 2015. SMC based on housebound criteria is denied prior to July 14, 2020.
- Granted
The Board has restored the Veteran's 100% rating for depressive disorder, effective August 1, 2020, as the reduction was improper and did not comply with applicable regulations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for acquired psychiatric disability, including unspecified anxiety disorder, depressive disorder, kleptomania, and PTSD is being remanded due to the AOJ's failure to obtain medical records from his periods of incarceration or a medical opinion regarding his diagnoses.
- Granted
The Veteran was granted service connection for migraine headaches effective August 10, 2022.,The Veteran was granted service connection for depressive disorder effective April 11, 2024.
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