The Veteran's opioid withdrawal symptoms were not caused by VA fault, negligence or accident from his pain management treatment. The Board denied the claim as there is no evidence of negligence on the part of his providers.
The deciding factor: The preponderance of the evidence does not support a finding that the proximate cause of the Veteran’s claimed disability was either carelessness, negligence, lack of proper skill, error in judgment or similar instance of fault on the part of VA in furnishing the surgical treatment, or an event not reasonably foreseeable.
- Claimed conditions
- opioid withdrawal symptoms
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- May 7, 2019
- Citation
- 19135381
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,454 · Granted: 23% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 19135381.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter to obtain an adequate independent medical opinion regarding the Veteran's 38 U.S.C. § 1151 claim.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter for an independent medical opinion to determine if additional disability, claimed as opioid withdrawal symptoms, opioid dependence, and opioid addiction, was proximately caused by VA treatment.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's opioid withdrawal symptoms, dependence, and addiction are not considered to be caused by VA medical care or negligence.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for hyperalgesia and opioid withdrawal symptoms related to VA medication management decisions is denied because the additional disability was not proximately caused by carelessness, negligence, lack of proper skill, error in judgment or similar instance of fault on the part of VA.
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