The Veteran's unauthorized medical expenses incurred at a private hospital on December 19, 2013 are granted because the care was deemed necessary due to an emergency condition manifesting severe symptoms that would have been hazardous if delayed.
The deciding factor: The need for immediate medical attention was deemed emergent by the Board based on the severity of the Veteran's symptoms and his perception of a delay in treatment being hazardous to his health.
- Claimed conditions
- upper respiratory infection
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 21, 2019
- Citation
- 19120781
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,828 · Granted: 32% (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 19120781.
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 service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and upper respiratory illness or upper respiratory infection, finding that the persuasive weight of the evidence did not show a causal relationship between these conditions and the Veteran's active service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for service connection due to a duty to assist error, and requests medical opinions on the etiology of his coronary artery disease, GERD with dyspepsia, and upper respiratory infection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's upper respiratory infection claim is denied. The Board has remanded the issues of service connection for TBI, an increased rating for PTSD, and entitlement to a TDIU.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and earlier effective dates are remanded due to the need for further development of his medical records. The Board will consider all submitted evidence, including private treatment records, during its review.
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