The Veteran received emergency medical treatment for ear pain and middle ear effusion at Shands Hospital North/University of Florida Health North (SHN) in Jacksonville, Florida on March 30, 2015. The Board found that the treatment was necessary due to a prudent layperson's expectation that delay would have been hazardous to health and there were no feasibly available VA facilities.
The deciding factor: The Veteran received emergency medical care for an ear condition due to severe pain and acute symptoms, which placed her in serious jeopardy of health without immediate attention.
- Claimed conditions
- Ear pain, Middle ear effusion
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 26, 2019
- Citation
- 19174967
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 19174967.
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.
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The Board has granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including depression, anxiety, and PTSD. The claims for sleep apnea, ear pain, and cough/shortness of breath are remanded due to insufficient medical opinions addressing the Veteran's lay statements regarding symptom onset and course.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 0 percent for allergic rhinitis is denied. The Board has also remanded the issue of service connection for ear pain and headaches secondary to service-connected allergic rhinitis.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's claim for a compensable disability rating for allergic rhinitis based on nasal obstruction was denied. However, the Veteran received a grant of a 10 percent rating for ear pain and discharge.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate examination and development of records, particularly regarding the nature and etiology of non-lupus ear disabilities. The Veteran's service-connected lupus is not considered in determining whether his current ear disabilities are related to service.
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