The Board denied compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for additional disability of the lung, including pneumothorax and pleural effusion, as a result of VA medical and surgical treatment.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not support a finding that the Veteran's additional disability was proximately caused by carelessness, negligence, lack of proper skill, error in judgment, or similar instance of fault on VA's part, nor were these complications reasonably unforeseeable outcomes of the surgery.
- Claimed conditions
- pneumothorax, pleural effusion
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 13, 2021
- Citation
- 21063230
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.
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- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for pleural effusion, pericarditis, chronic, lung changes, left, lung scarring, left, and pericardial effusion to obtain additional medical evidence.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a respiratory/lung disability to obtain additional evidence, including inpatient records from a German hospital and an adequate VA examination.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for higher disability ratings for lumbosacral strain, thoracic strain, right posterior lyric lesion SI joint, dextroscoliosis, scarring/atelectasis of left lower lobe, nonspecific mild pulmonary hyperinflation, pleural effusion, residuals of COVID-19, and unspecified anxiety disorder.
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