The Veteran's unauthorized medical expenses incurred at Bingham Memorial Hospital from October 14 to October 18, 2010 are granted for payment by VA due to the emergency nature of the treatment and the lack of availability of a VA facility. The Veteran had private health insurance (Medicare) covering part of his costs but is not barred from reimbursement as per recent court decisions.
The deciding factor: The medical expenses were incurred during an emergency situation where no VA facility was feasibly available, and the Veteran's private health insurance covered some of the costs leaving a balance that could be reimbursed by VA.
- Claimed conditions
- laceration to his scalp, collapsed lung, fracture rib cage
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 24, 2019
- Citation
- 19105913
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 Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a lung disability, to include a collapsed lung or residuals thereof, and shin disabilities due to insufficient evidence of an in-service injury or disease.
- Denied
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- Denied
The Veteran's collapsed lung and gash in the esophagus were not service-connected, as there was no evidence of a pre-existing condition or direct causation.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, effective from the date of the February 2025 rating decision.
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