The veteran's appeal for accrued benefits regarding service connection and SMC levels was denied. The appellant is not entitled to the maximum SMC rate due to lack of anatomical loss or use of extremities, nor does he meet the criteria for a higher SMC rate.
The deciding factor: The veteran did not have the necessary anatomical loss or use of extremities and/or various degrees of loss of audio or visual acuity required for the maximum SMC rates.
- Claimed conditions
- retroperitoneal hemorrhage, bowel and bladder incontinence, multi-infarct dementia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- April 22, 2003
- Citation
- 0307663
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,987 · Granted: 15% (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 0307663.
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: Granted
The Veteran's increased stipend in the PCAFC is granted due to his need for personal care services each time he completes at least three ADLs and is fully dependent on a caregiver, based on his service-connected conditions and documented medical problems.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the case requires further development due to errors in pre-decisional duty to assist, specifically regarding the Veteran's exposure to volatile organic compounds and the likely etiology of his death-causing conditions.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's left ankle disability is rated at the maximum allowable under current criteria, and service connection for bowel and bladder incontinence is granted due to equipoise of evidence.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's bowel and bladder incontinence is at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, thus granting service connection for this condition.
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