The Veteran's unauthorized medical expenses incurred at a private hospital for a finger laceration were denied because VA facilities were feasibly available and an attempt to use them beforehand would have been reasonable.
The deciding factor: The nearest VA facility was not feasibly available due to the time of day, and the Veteran did not seek treatment earlier when he could have called for advice from VA.
- Claimed conditions
- finger laceration
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 10, 2019
- Citation
- 19192910
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 19192910.
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.
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