The Board denied the Veteran's claim for payment or reimbursement of unauthorized medical expenses incurred at San Juan Regional Spine Center due to lack of prior authorization and because the treatment was not an emergent condition.
The deciding factor: The treatment provided was non-emergent in nature, and a prudent layperson would not have reasonably expected delay in seeking immediate medical attention to be hazardous to life or health.
- Claimed conditions
- neck pain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 8, 2019
- Citation
- 19177633
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including back pain, knee and wrist joint pains, neck pain, anxiety, depression, as further development is needed to properly adjudicate these claims.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for chronic diarrhea, headaches, and neck pain for initial adjudication on the merits by the AOJ.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeal of all issues related to service connection for various conditions, including back pain, neck pain, and nerve pain in both upper and lower extremities.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed all service connection claims due to the Veteran's death, as there is no substituted appellant for this appeal.
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