The Veteran's claim for payment or reimbursement of unauthorized medical expenses incurred at Houston Medical Center on June 3, 2018, is denied because the condition was not emergent and no emergency treatment was required.
The deciding factor: The Veteran presented with abdominal pain that had been ongoing for over a month and did not meet the criteria for an emergent situation as determined by contemporaneous medical records and lay statements.
- Claimed conditions
- abdominal pain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 1, 2019
- Citation
- 19175948
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Veteran was granted an effective date of August 29, 2022 for the award of service connection for chest pain and shortness of breath but denied an earlier effective date for abdominal pain. Hemochromatosis remains under review.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for a disability manifested by abdominal/cervical pain, finding that the Veteran's symptoms are related to her service.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeals for service connection and increased rating due to improper concurrent election of review options.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for chronic diarrhea and abdominal pain to ensure the Veteran is afforded a VA examination.
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