The Veteran's unauthorized medical expenses for follow-up care after his left ankle surgery were not authorized in advance by VA, and the Board finds that he did not meet the criteria for reimbursement under applicable laws.
The deciding factor: The Veteran was required to obtain prior authorization from VA for the private outpatient treatment with Dr. F, which he failed to do due to lack of awareness or investigation into whether the care would be covered by VA.
- Claimed conditions
- broken left ankle
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- April 22, 2015
- Citation
- 1517329
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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 1517329.
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.
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