The Board found that the Veteran's incisional hernia was not caused by VA carelessness, negligence, or similar fault. The Board concluded there is no indication of an event not reasonably foreseeable.
The deciding factor: The May 2011 VA examiner opined that the risk of incisional hernia when a midline abdominal incision is made is not unforeseeable and that the Veteran's hernia did not result from carelessness, negligence, or lack of proper skill on the part of the attending VA personnel.
- Claimed conditions
- incisional hernia, appendectomy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 20, 2018
- Citation
- 1823465
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 1823465.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for abdominal scars was implicitly denied in the August 1994 rating decision, as her surgeries were already addressed and rated under different diagnostic codes.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for service connection of painful or tender abdominal scars associated with Crohn's disease, status-post ileocecal resection, appendectomy, and diverticulitis is dismissed as a freestanding earlier effective date claim.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for service connection of residuals of abdominal injury, finding that no valid claim was filed before March 3, 1978.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for a new VA examination to address functional impairment and to determine whether the Veteran has an incisional inguinal hernia.
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