The Board has determined that the veteran is entitled to an effective date of May 8, 1997 for SMC under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1114(r)(1) and 38 C.F.R. § 3.350(h), based on his entitlement to aid and attendance due to his service-connected disabilities.
The deciding factor: The veteran's medical records demonstrate that he required regular aid and attendance as of May 8, 1997, which is the earliest date of record supporting this determination.
- Claimed conditions
- paraplegia, loss of use of both lower extremities, loss of anal and bladder sphincter control
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- April 24, 2006
- Citation
- 0611685
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,643 · Granted: 15% (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 0611685.
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 all issues except for the ones related to SMC, SAH, and earlier effective date for service connection. The Veteran is granted SMC under certain conditions, certificate of eligibility for SAH, and increased rate of SMC at a specific rate.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of January 21, 2022 for service connection for loss of use of both lower extremities and special monthly compensation based on the need for aid and attendance with a higher level of care.
- Granted
The veteran's effective date for service connection of loss of use of both lower extremities was granted an earlier date of April 6, 2015. The Board found continuous pursuit of the claim since that date.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for payment or reimbursement of unauthorized medical expenses incurred on September 24, 2020, and October 8, 2020, by Flat River Family Dentistry due to lack of prior authorization from VA and the absence of a medical emergency requiring immediate treatment.
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