The Veteran was treated at the UPMC emergency room for severe low back pain. The treatment received met all criteria under 38 C.F.R. § 1725, allowing VA payment or reimbursement for the cost of medical services.
The deciding factor: The severity and nature of the Veteran's back pain were such that a prudent layperson would have reasonably expected delay in seeking immediate medical attention to be hazardous to health, and no feasible VA facility was available at the time.
- Claimed conditions
- low back pain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 27, 2019
- Citation
- 19166083
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,726 · Granted: 19% (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 19166083.
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.
- Granted
The claim for service connection of a low back disability was reopened due to the submission of new and material evidence. The claim is denied as there is no evidence that the current condition is related to service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for heart disease, hypertension, kidney disease, and low back pain due to potential errors in duty to assist. The AOJ is required to verify the Veteran's alleged exposure to herbicide agents and obtain private treatment records.
- Granted
The Board has granted an effective date of February 26, 2011 for the award of service connection for low back pain with left sacroiliac dysfunction based on new evidence received after a final denial.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for right and left upper extremity carpal tunnel syndrome and low back pain, finding that there is no evidence of a chronic disease or injury in service or within one year after separation from service.
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