The Board has determined that the appellant's son, C.H., was permanently incapable of self-support due to mental defect at the age of 18 and qualifies as a helpless child for VA purposes.
The deciding factor: The evidence showed that C.H. had been considered learning disabled/mentally retarded since an early age, with testing revealing he scored in the bottom one percent of his group for intelligence. The Board found that this made him incapable of self-support from birth and has continued to be so.
- Claimed conditions
- mental defect
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 28, 2006
- Citation
- 0618950
Veterans Law Judge
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 0618950.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the appellant's claim for recognition as a helpless child of his father due to insufficient evidence showing he was permanently incapable of self-support prior to turning 18 years old.
- Granted
The Board finds that the Veteran's son D. became permanently incapable of self-support prior to his 18th birthday due to mental illness, and grants recognition as a 'helpless child'.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the appellant is a helpless child on the basis of permanent incapacity for self-support prior to his 18th birthday, and thus the issue of entitlement to an apportionment of the Veteran's benefits is granted. The appeal regarding the apportionment will be remanded due to procedural issues.
- Granted
The Veteran's daughter, M.E.G., became permanently incapable of self-support due to a mental defect before her 18th birthday. The Board has granted the claim for recognition as a helpless child.
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