The Veteran seeks compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 for sternal dehiscence related to a coronary artery bypass graft surgery performed by VA in October 2008. The case is remanded due to the need for additional medical records and an opinion regarding informed consent, causation, and foreseeability of the Veteran's residuals.
The deciding factor: The decision requires further investigation into the Veteran's claims, including obtaining missing treatment records and providing a retrospective medical evaluation to determine if VA provided proper informed consent, whether the Veteran suffered from additional disability as a result of the surgery, and if any such disability was caused by or made worse by the VA treatment.
- Claimed conditions
- sternal dehiscence
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 26, 2017
- Citation
- 1742479
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 1742479.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's sternal dehiscence following his October 2008 VA surgery is not considered a result of carelessness, negligence, or similar fault on the part of VA. The Board finds that the additional disability was reasonably foreseeable and the Veteran provided informed consent for the procedures.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claim for benefits under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 due to lack of evidence showing negligence or error on the part of VA in providing medical care, and because the veteran consented to the procedure resulting in residuals.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
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