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
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,062 · Granted: 34% (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 19194545.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
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