The Veteran's vocal cord damage resulting from a September 2010 VA coronary bypass surgery is denied as not meeting the criteria for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 due to lack of fault on the part of VA.
The deciding factor: The VA medical opinions found no evidence of carelessness, negligence, or other instance of fault by VA in performing the coronary bypass surgery, and concluded that the vocal cord damage was not a foreseeable complication of the procedure.
- Claimed conditions
- vocal cord damage
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 4, 2020
- Citation
- 20031169
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 20031169.
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 claim for a throat condition to schedule an appropriate VA compensation examination to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran's claimed throat condition.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions and denied entitlement to higher initial ratings for existing disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for hypothyroidism, vocal cord damage, dry mouth disability, and dysphagia as the evidence did not show exposure to herbicide agents or other presumptive conditions during active duty.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to new evidence received, and requests an addendum opinion regarding his esophageal cancer.
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