The Veteran's treatment at the Memorial Hospital Jacksonville on February 7, 2018 was for a cold with nasal congestion. The Board found that VA facilities were feasibly available and an attempt to use them beforehand would have been considered reasonable by a prudent layperson.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's condition of having a cold with nasal congestion did not meet the criteria for emergency treatment as defined in VA regulations, given the availability of VA facilities nearby.
- Claimed conditions
- Nasal congestion, Upper respiratory infection
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- January 10, 2020
- Citation
- 20002270
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,035 · Granted: 30% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 20002270.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The appeal for service connection for a degenerative disc disease, lumbar spine disorder is dismissed as it has been fully granted. The claims for service connection for a degenerative disc disease, cervical disorder, cervical and ulnar neuropathy LUE radiculopathy, and an URI are remanded for readjudication.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted payment or reimbursement for unauthorized emergency treatment received at Gulf Coast Medical Center on February 22, 2016 due to the Veteran's acute symptoms of a constant hacking cough and difficulty breathing. The closest VA facilities were not feasibly available, and an attempt to use them beforehand would have been unreasonable.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a lung condition and an upper respiratory infection condition, finding that there is no evidence to support these conditions began during or are related to his military service.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's LLE varicose veins are granted a higher rating, RLE varicose veins service connection is granted, and the URI claim is remanded for further development.
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