The Veteran's umbilical hernia condition required immediate medical attention, and the nearest VA facility was not feasibly available. The court found that payment or reimbursement for the private medical services provided at Grande Ronde Hospital is granted.
The deciding factor: The treatment was deemed necessary due to the acuity of the patient's symptoms and the significant change in the presentation of his umbilical hernia, which could have been hazardous if delayed.
- Claimed conditions
- umbilical hernia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- August 3, 2018
- Citation
- 18123828
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 18123828.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board allowed the benefit or issue identified in this decision. Review the original order: other issues in the same appeal may have a different outcome, and this decision does not predict another claim.
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.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and initial disability ratings were denied. The Veteran was granted a rating of 40 percent, but no higher, for diabetic peripheral neuropathy affecting the right lower extremity and left lower extremity, and a rating of 20 percent, but no higher, for diabetic peripheral neuropathy affecting the left upper extremity (minor).
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's claims for service connection and increased ratings were denied as there was no current evidence of the claimed conditions, or they did not meet the criteria for a compensable rating.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of an umbilical hernia, finding that there was no evidence to support a relationship between his military service and the condition.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for hiatal hernia, deviated septum, left shoulder condition, umbilical hernia, and left upper extremity radiculopathy as there is no persuasive evidence that these conditions began during active service or are otherwise related to an in-service injury or disease.
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