The Board denied the Veteran's claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 due to a claimed infection and residuals from VA medical care, finding that the proximate cause of the additional disability was not reasonably foreseeable.
The deciding factor: The Board found that while the risk of infection was foreseen and notified to the Veteran prior to surgery, the actual causation required for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 was not established due to lack of fault on VA's part.
- Claimed conditions
- infection, loss of sternal bone, constant pain in chest, bilateral leg condition due to surgery to remove veins, diabetes, depression, heart condition, erectile dysfunction
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 16, 2022
- Citation
- 22069250
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 22069250.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for diabetes mellitus type II with erectile dysfunction was denied as the evidence did not show that he had been diagnosed and manifested to at least a 10 percent disability rating on or prior to May 8, 2001.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a heart condition, including ischemic heart disease. The evidence did not support a finding of a current disability related to service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining in-service psychiatric treatment records and scheduling a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of any acquired psychiatric disorder.
- Denied
The Veteran's depression was rated at 50 percent prior to July 1, 2016. The Board found that the evidence did not support a higher rating due to occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity. For TDIU, the Veteran had multiple service-connected disabilities but his education and work experience were sufficient for sedentary or light labor employment.
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