The Veteran's unauthorized medical expenses incurred for emergency medical services provided at a non-VA medical facility on March 3, 2009 are granted as the treatment was necessary due to a MVA and potential life-threatening injuries.
The deciding factor: The treatment was deemed necessary in a medical emergency of such nature that delay would have been hazardous to life or health, given the Veteran's reported alcohol intoxication and potential serious injuries from the MVA.
- Claimed conditions
- fractured sternum, alcohol intoxication
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 16, 2015
- Citation
- 1544283
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 1544283.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's TDIU claim for service-connected ocular migraines is granted effective January 29, 2013. The Board denied the prior TDIU claims due to lack of a single disability rated at 60% or more and found that he was not unemployable based on his service-connected disabilities.
- Granted
The Veteran's unauthorized medical expenses incurred at Lakewood Hospital from November 15, 2011 to November 17, 2011 are now covered by VA due to the emergency nature of his treatment and the unavailability of VA facilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has ordered the case to be remanded for additional development, including obtaining updated VA treatment records and scheduling a VA examination. The Veteran's service-connected residuals of a fractured sternum with costochondritis and shortness of breath need to be evaluated during flareups.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is to determine if his service-connected residuals of a fractured sternum with costochondritis and shortness of breath warrant a higher rating than the current 10 percent.
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