The Veteran's unauthorized medical expenses incurred at a private hospital during an emergency visit are granted, as the treatment was for a serious condition and no feasible VA facility was available.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran had a 'medical emergency' due to mental status changes and chest pain, which posed a serious threat to his health. The nearest VA facility was not feasibly available, leading to the decision in favor of payment.
- Claimed conditions
- mental status changes, chest pain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 6, 2019
- Citation
- 19191781
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,011 · Granted: 24% (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 19191781.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeals for all issues related to posttraumatic headache, insomnia, left ankle condition, lumbosacral strain (lower back), and chest pain. The appeal was dismissed as the Veteran requested withdrawal of these claims.
- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for TBI, back strain, chest pain, foot pain, and tendonitis as there is no evidence of disease or injury incurred during active duty or training.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for service connection on the issues of chest pain, ear condition, vaginosis, syncope, thyroid condition, and jaw condition have been dismissed due to non-jurisdictional procedural defects. The Board has also remanded the claims for service connection on the issues of occipital neuralgia, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) for further development.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied service connection for lymph node swelling and chest pain due to a lack of current disability evidence. The case is remanded to obtain private medical records related to the Veteran's claimed conditions.
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