The veteran's claim for special monthly pension based on the need for aid and attendance was denied as he is not in need of regular aid and assistance due to his disabilities.
The deciding factor: The veteran has significant disabilities but does not require regular aid and assistance, as evidenced by his ability to perform personal care functions without assistance.
- Claimed conditions
- Non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus, Status post trans-ischemic accident, Degenerative joint disease, Arthritis, Right ankle fracture, Basal cell carcinoma of the right earlobe and cheek, Benign prostatic hypertrophy, Gastroesophageal reflux
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- January 28, 2003
- Citation
- 0301545
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 685 · Granted: 36% (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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0301545.
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: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's motion to revise a March 1975 rating decision that assigned an initial noncompensable disability rating for service-connected right ankle fracture, finding no CUE in the decision.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's low back disability and right leg radiculopathy are granted service connection, but left leg radiculopathy is denied.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted a 40 percent rating for the Veteran's low back disability, effective from the date of the August 2013 VA examination. The decision also notes that all reasonable doubt is resolved in favor of the Veteran.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a duty-to-assist error in previous examinations, requiring additional information on right shoulder ROM measurements without medication effects.
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