The Board denied payment or reimbursement for unauthorized medical expenses incurred at Moberly Regional Medical Center on January 2, 2018 due to the lack of pre-authorization and failure to meet the criteria for emergency treatment under 38 U.S.C. § 1725.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran's left wrist injury did not meet the requirement of a condition of such severity that delay in seeking medical attention would have been hazardous to her health, as evidenced by the lack of documented symptoms and distress during the emergency department visit.
- Claimed conditions
- Left wrist injury
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 15, 2019
- Citation
- 19178697
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,934 · Granted: 41% (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 19178697.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claims of service connection for back, left knee, left wrist, and left shoulder disabilities due to inadequate VA medical opinions. Further development is needed.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim for total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) as there is no evidence that the Veteran's service-connected left wrist injury renders him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.
- Granted
The Veteran's left wrist disability, characterized by painful motion and weakness, is rated at a 10 percent since October 20, 1975 to April 8, 2010.
- Granted
The Veteran's non-VA medical care at VMC for a left wrist injury was authorized in advance, and the Board finds that it met all criteria for payment or reimbursement under 38 U.S.C. § 1725.
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