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.
The deciding factor: The Veteran presented with symptoms of DVT which was considered an emergency by both the Veteran and her VA vascular surgeon. The Board found that delay in seeking immediate medical attention would have been hazardous to life or health, and VA facilities were not feasibly available.
- Claimed conditions
- DVT
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 25, 2018
- Citation
- 18144889
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 18144889.
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.
- 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.
- Denied
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's cause of death was identified as cardiac tamponade due to pulmonary embolism, which is not service-connected. The Board finds that the Veteran's service-connected conditions did not contribute substantially or materially to his death.
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