The VA determined that the appellant does not meet the criteria for an increased rate of special monthly pension due to her need of regular aid and attendance because she is not blind or nearly blind, is not a patient in a nursing home, and has not demonstrated an inability to care for most of her daily personal needs without regular assistance of another person.
The deciding factor: The appellant's multiple medical conditions do not result in the need for regular aid and attendance as defined by VA regulations.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), rheumatoid arthritis, diverticulosis, obesity, renal insufficiency, diabetes mellitus type II
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 5, 2003
- Citation
- 0303748
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,421 · Granted: 29% (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 0303748.
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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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's rheumatoid arthritis disability rating is being remanded for additional development due to significant weight loss and anemia.
- Denied
The Veteran's respiratory disability, including asthma and COPD, is denied as service connection is not warranted due to the condition being solely attributed to smoking.
- Granted
The Veteran's diabetes mellitus, type II, is granted on a secondary basis with obesity serving as an intermediate step due to service-connected low back disability, sciatica, and right shoulder disabilities.
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