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.
The deciding factor: The medical records indicate that sternal dehiscence following coronary artery bypass grafting occurs with a frequency of 3.2 - 3.6%, which is considered a reasonable risk by a reasonable health care provider, and was disclosed in the consent form signed by the Veteran prior to surgery.
- Claimed conditions
- sternal dehiscence
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 14, 2018
- Citation
- 18135445
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 18135445.
What this means for you
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
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.
- 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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