The Veteran's claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for additional disability as a result of May 2011 VA surgical treatment for cancer of the mouth and jaw is denied because it was not caused by carelessness, negligence, lack of proper skill, error in judgment, or similar instance of fault on the part of VA.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran's resultant disability was not the result of carelessness, negligence, lack of proper skill, error in judgment, or similar instance of fault on the part of VA and was not the result of an event not reasonably foreseeable.
- Claimed conditions
- numbness of the right side of his face, hair growth in the interior of his mouth where a skin graft from his right breast area was grafted over metal plate, numbness and pain with limited mobility in his right shoulder, numbness of the chest, limited movement of the head, stiffness in his neck, ill-fitting dentures
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 16, 2020
- Citation
- 20079636
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 20079636.
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 Veteran's claim for compensation under the provisions of 38 U.S.C. § 1151 is being remanded due to new evidence submitted after the October 2015 SSOC, and he should file a separate claim for compensation related to medical care provided in 2015.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran is seeking compensation under the provisions of 38 U.S.C.A. � 1151 for additional disability as a result of VA surgical treatment for cancer of the mouth and jaw in May 2011, but his claim has been remanded due to missing records and need for further examination.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
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