The veteran's claim for special monthly pension for aid and attendance is being remanded due to incomplete medical records and the need for a VA examination.
The deciding factor: Incomplete medical records and the need for a VA examination prevent a meaningful determination of the veteran's eligibility for special monthly pension for aid and attendance.
- Claimed conditions
- Aid and Attendance
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 23, 2004
- Citation
- 0402353
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,038 · Granted: 30% (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 0402353.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's entitlement to special monthly compensation based on aid and attendance is granted with an effective date of March 15, 2021. This decision is based on the 'look back rule' due to evidence showing a disability increase prior to March 15, 2022.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case for further development regarding when the need for aid and attendance first arose, as it is inextricably intertwined with other pension claims.
- Granted
The Board finds that the overpayment of SMC benefits for aid and attendance is valid due to the Veteran's hospitalization at VA facilities or funded by government expense, but also finds that repayment would defeat the purpose of the award of benefits as his current benefits were not used. The Board grants a waiver of the debt.
- Granted
The Board has granted an effective date of October 1, 2006 for the grant of a higher rate of DIC based on the need for aid and attendance. The appellant's need for regular aid and assistance began in October 2006.
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