The Veteran's ankle injury was treated at a non-VA facility due to delay in seeking medical attention. The Board found that the treatment was necessary and that a VA facility was not feasibly available, thus granting payment or reimbursement for the medical expenses incurred.
The deciding factor: The Board determined that the emergency nature of the condition warranted immediate medical attention and that a VA facility was not readily available to provide such care.
- Claimed conditions
- ankle sprain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 26, 2019
- Citation
- 19122097
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,934 · Granted: 41% (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 19122097.
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 claim for an earlier effective date for service connection for adjustment disorder with depressed mood. The decision was based on the lack of new and material evidence within one year of previous denials.
- Denied
The Veteran's bilateral ankle sprain disability is rated at 10% each, and the Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted due to lack of ankylosis or marked limitation of motion.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for a VA opinion regarding whether his service-connected bilateral ankle condition aggravated his bilateral knee condition.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation as of April 11, 2008, and therefore grants an earlier effective date for TDIU.
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