The Board denied compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for residuals of right hip replacement surgery due to lack of evidence showing VA was at fault or the event was not reasonably foreseeable.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's residual disabilities were known complications of total hip replacement surgery and the risk factors he demonstrated increased the likelihood of developing such complications, thus no proximate cause was established.
- Claimed conditions
- Right Hip Replacement Surgery Residuals, Psoas Muscle Impingement, Leg Length Discrepancy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 1, 2019
- Citation
- 19115481
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,242 · Granted: 24% (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 19115481.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for residuals of a right total knee arthroplasty, finding that there was no negligence on the part of VA in providing medical treatment and that the LLD is not an unforeseeable event.
- Denied
The Veteran's right hip extension and flexion are rated at the maximum available under VA regulations.,Right hip flexion prior to August 1, 2020 is not compensable; after that date, it is rated as 40 percent disabling. Right thigh impairment remains at 20 percent since September 23, 2015.,The Veteran's right knee has a maximum rating of 20 percent for flexion prior to August 1, 2020 and 20 percent thereafter. The genu recurvatum is rated as 10 percent disabling.,Right leg length discrepancy remains at 30 percent before August 1, 2020 and 50 percent thereafter.
- Denied
The Board denied compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for right hip surgery complications, finding no evidence of fault on the part of VA personnel.
- Denied
The Board denied compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for additional disability resulting from a July 1993 left total hip replacement (THR) due to lack of evidence showing negligence or informed consent, as the leg-length discrepancy was considered a normal and expected outcome of the procedure.
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