The Board has determined that the veteran meets the criteria for a higher level of special monthly compensation based on aid and attendance due to his service-connected disabilities, which require daily personal health-care services provided by licensed professionals.
The deciding factor: The veteran's need for regular aid and attendance, coupled with the requirement for personal health care services in his home, necessitates a higher rate of special monthly compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1114(r)(2).
- Claimed conditions
- terminal optic atrophy, diabetic retinopathy, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), congestive heart failure, diabetes mellitus associated with herbicide exposure, gastroparesis, peripheral neuropathy of the right and left lower extremities, peripheral neuropathy of the right and left upper extremities, malaria, liver disease secondary to diabetes mellitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 50%
- Decision date
- February 9, 2004
- Citation
- 0403702
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,582 · Granted: 32% (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 0403702.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for asthma, hypertension with residuals including stroke, DM II, bilateral amputation of all toes, and diabetic neuropathy to obtain VA medical opinions regarding the nature and etiology of these conditions.,The Board also remanded the claim for ED as it is inextricably intertwined with the DM II claim.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's eligibility for PCAFC benefits is remanded due to the AOJ's failure to address whether it is in the best interest of the Veteran to participate in the program. The Board finds that the Veteran has been in need of personal care services for at least six continuous months based on an inability to perform the ADL of bathing.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's death was not caused by or substantially contributed to by any service-connected disability, and thus denied the claim for service connection for cause of death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the issues of service connection for atrial fibrillation, benign prostatic hypertrophy with outflow obstruction, congestive heart failure, and hypertension due to inadequate VA opinions. The Veteran's exposure during service is conceded to include asbestos and gas chamber exposures.
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