The Veteran's unauthorized medical expenses incurred at a non-VA hospital due to an emergency condition are reimbursed by VA, as the treatment was necessary and no other reasonable alternatives were available.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran reasonably expected delay in seeking immediate medical care would have been hazardous to his health, and that a VA facility with an emergency department was not feasibly available at the time of the incident.
- Claimed conditions
- generalize[d] weakness, aches and pain, congestion and fever
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 15, 2019
- Citation
- 19103427
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,038 · Granted: 30% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 19103427.
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
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