The Veteran's unauthorized medical expenses incurred at Memorial Hermann Hospital from June 30, 2011 to July 5, 2011 are denied as the VA facilities were feasibly available and a transfer was not considered reasonable.
The deciding factor: VA facilities in Houston were feasibly available and an attempt to use them beforehand would have been reasonable by a prudent layperson.
- Claimed conditions
- Right hemiparesis, Altered mental state
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 15, 2014
- Citation
- 1402207
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 1402207.
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 the residuals of a stroke as secondary to service-connected Type II Diabetes Mellitus, effective from July 8, 2002. The RO then assigned a 10% disability rating retroactively effective from August 20, 2007.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for additional development, including determining the distance to the nearest VA medical facility and whether a bed was available at this facility. A new opinion from a VA medical doctor is also required regarding when the Veteran became stable enough for transfer to a VA facility.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for degenerative disc disease of the thoracic spine was denied.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for a cerebrovascular accident, to include as secondary to service-connected cervical myositis, was also denied.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for right hemiparesis and depressive disorder were not addressed in this decision due to the remand status of these claims.,The Veteran's claim for an evaluation in excess of 20 percent for degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine was granted, with a rating of 40% effective March 12, 2009.,The Veteran's claim for an evaluation in excess of 30 percent for degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine was denied.,The Veteran's claim for an evaluation in excess of 20 percent for radiculopathy of the right upper extremity was granted, with a rating of 40% effective March 12, 2009.,The Veteran's claim for an evaluation in excess of 20 percent for radiculopathy of the left upper extremity was denied.,The Veteran's claim for a total disability evaluation based upon individual unemployability (TDIU) due to service-connected disabilities was not addressed in this decision.
- Denied
The Board has denied an increased rating for subjective symptoms due to a post-operative subdural hematoma, including benign positional vertigo and bilateral upper quadrant scotoma.
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