The veteran's claim for higher special monthly compensation (SMC) at the 'o-rate' based on anatomical loss or loss of use of both hands was denied as he does not have loss of use of either hand, and his function is better than what would be expected if the hands were amputated with a prosthesis.
The deciding factor: The veteran's weakness in his upper extremities has been considered in the award at the 'l-rate' (loss of use of both lower extremities). The VA examination did not reveal any complete loss of use of the hands due to multiple sclerosis, indicating effective function of the hands better than expected with amputation and a prosthesis.
- Claimed conditions
- Multiple Sclerosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 5, 2003
- Citation
- 0302194
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 464 · Granted: 21% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0302194.
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