The Veteran's medical expenses at St. Cloud Hospital on April 30, 2018 are covered as it was a medical emergency and the nearest VA facility with an emergency department was not feasibly available.
The deciding factor: The treatment provided constituted a medical emergency due to the battery failure of the ICD which the Veteran relied upon for his health condition.
- Claimed conditions
- Ischemic cardiomyopathy, Atrial-ventricular block, Left bundle branch block
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- October 11, 2019
- Citation
- 19178296
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,077 · Granted: 25% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 19178296.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board allowed the benefit or issue identified in this decision. Review the original order: other issues in the same appeal may have a different outcome, and this decision does not predict another claim.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's service-connected acquired psychiatric disability, ischemic cardiomyopathy, and other disabilities have rendered him unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation since December 29, 2020. Effective from that date, the Veteran is granted TDIU and SMC housebound.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his heart condition was not related to his military service and could not be presumed due to herbicide exposure. The Board also found insufficient evidence linking his heart condition to asbestos exposure during service.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the cause of death due to chronic suppurative otitis media, which aggravated the Veteran's pre-existing heart conditions and led to his fall resulting in death.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his ischemic heart disease was related to his in-service exposure to herbicide agents and contributed substantially to his death.
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