The Veteran's DVT following a hydrocelectomy is not considered an additional disability due to VA treatment, as the evidence does not establish that it was caused by VA carelessness or negligence. The risk of DVT from this minor procedure was deemed rare and not reasonably foreseeable.
The deciding factor: The Board found no evidence that the March 2014 hydrocelectomy proximately caused the Veteran's DVT, and concluded that VA did not fail to exercise reasonable care in providing informed consent for the surgery.
- Claimed conditions
- DVT, hydrocelectomy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 3, 2018
- Citation
- 18140637
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 18140637.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has granted a 20 percent evaluation for the Veteran's hydrocelectomy. The issue of service connection for erectile dysfunction, as secondary to service-connected hydrocelectomy, is remanded due to procedural error.
- Denied
The Veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected disability. The Board found no evidence of any heart, lung, renal, or DVT condition during his military service that could have contributed to his death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has ordered a remand due to inadequate compliance with previous remands, and the Veteran's thrombophlebitis of lower extremities is being reviewed for service connection.
- Granted
The Board finds that the Veteran's unauthorized medical expenses incurred on February 9, 2015 at Sarasota Memorial Hospital were reasonable and necessary due to an emergent condition (DVT) and VA facilities were not feasibly available.
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