The veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for specially adapted housing assistance or a special home adaptation grant due to his inability to walk without aid.
The deciding factor: The veteran's service-connected disabilities, while disabling, do not result in a loss of use of both lower extremities or blindness in both eyes with 5/200 visual acuity or less, which are the criteria for specially adapted housing assistance or a special home adaptation grant.
- Claimed conditions
- gunshot wound to the left knee, post-traumatic stress disorder with major depression, low back pain, osteomyelitis of the left knee, scar of the left knee, sciatic nerve pain associated with low back pain, healed fracture, left distal femur, healed fracture, proximal left tibia, skin graft, donor site, right thigh, malaria
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 90%
- Decision date
- March 24, 2003
- Citation
- 0305533
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,055 · Granted: 31% (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 0305533.
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.
- Granted
The claim for service connection of a low back disability was reopened due to the submission of new and material evidence. The claim is denied as there is no evidence that the current condition is related to service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for heart disease, hypertension, kidney disease, and low back pain due to potential errors in duty to assist. The AOJ is required to verify the Veteran's alleged exposure to herbicide agents and obtain private treatment records.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient detail in a previous VA medical opinion regarding whether malaria or scarlet fever during service contributed to the Veteran's death. The case must be returned for further evaluation.
- Granted
The Board has granted an effective date of February 26, 2011 for the award of service connection for low back pain with left sacroiliac dysfunction based on new evidence received after a final denial.
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