The veteran's claim for higher special monthly compensation based on the need for aid and attendance of another person is being remanded due to incomplete examination records and lack of medical opinion regarding his ability to care for himself.
The deciding factor: The VA needs additional evidence, specifically a comprehensive evaluation by a VA clinician to determine if the veteran requires regular aid and attendance.
- Claimed conditions
- gouty arthritis of multiple joints, left shoulder repair, gastroenteritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 19, 2004
- Citation
- 0412915
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,419 · Granted: 21% (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 0412915.
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.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the Veteran's appeal for service connection of a right ankle disorder.,The Board denied the Veteran's request for an earlier effective date for his service connection for gastroenteritis, lumbosacral strain, left lower extremity radiculopathy, right lower extremity radiculopathy, left ankle lateral collateral ligament strain, right knee strain and hemorrhoids. The earliest effective date is December 5, 2018.,The Board denied the Veteran's request for an earlier effective date for his service connection of a lumbosacral strain. The earliest effective date is December 5, 2018.,The Board denied the Veteran's request for an earlier effective date for his service connection of left lower extremity radiculopathy, sciatic nerve. The earliest effective date is December 5, 2018.,The Board denied the Veteran's request for an earlier effective date for his service connection of right lower extremity radiculopathy, sciatic nerve. The earliest effective date is December 5, 2018.,The Board denied the Veteran's request for an earlier effective date for his service connection of a left ankle lateral collateral ligament strain. The earliest effective date is December 5, 2018.,The Board denied the Veteran's request for an earlier effective date for his service connection of right knee strain. The earliest effective date is December 5, 2018.,The Board denied the Veteran's request for an earlier effective date for his service connection of hemorrhoids. The earliest effective date is December 5, 2018.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for acute sinusitis, gastroenteritis, a plantar wart, plantar fasciitis, and a right shoulder disorder due to the lack of current diagnoses in the medical records.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C. 1151 due to his stomach condition is remanded because the VA did not obtain relevant treatment records and an addendum opinion was needed.
- Granted
The Veteran's gastroenteritis is found to be related to her service, and the Board has granted service connection for this condition.
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