The Board denied compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for residuals of a January 2009 spinal fusion, finding that the additional disability was not caused by VA's care or treatment and thus did not meet the criteria for compensation.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the January 2009 spinal fusion was performed at WPAFB, which is not a VA facility. The additional disability of lung disability and nerve damage was not caused by an unforeseeable event resulting from VA's care or treatment.
- Claimed conditions
- lung disability, nerve damage
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 17, 2019
- Citation
- 19194545
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 19194545.
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 claims for service connection for various conditions to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors, including obtaining outstanding Social Security Administration records.
- Partly granted
The Board denied ratings in excess of 30 percent for bilateral foot disability, a rating in excess of 30 percent for left knee disability, and a rating in excess of 10 percent for lung disability. However, it granted an effective date of December 17, 2012, but no earlier, for the award service connection for limitation of extension of the left knee and left knee scar, and granted TDIU from January 17, 2013 to November 5, 2018.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the claims for service connection and increased ratings as the appeal was untimely.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 10 percent disability rating for the service-connected scar, status-post appendectomy, but denied all other claims for increased ratings and service connection.
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