The Veteran's claim for compensation under the provisions of 38 U.S.C. § §§ 1151 for residuals of open-heart surgery was reopened due to new and material evidence, and the claim is now granted as he suffered an additional disability from a retained surgical item in his heart caused by VA negligence.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's condition improved after surgery but developed a retained foreign body (needle) in his pericardium which could not be removed without risk to his health. The Board found that this constituted an additional disability due to negligent care from the VA, and granted compensation under 38 U.S.C. § §§ 1151.
- Claimed conditions
- Residuals of open-heart surgery, Retained surgical item (needle) in the heart
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 2, 2019
- Citation
- 19160174
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 880 · Granted: 26% (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 19160174.
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
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