The veteran's claim for a certificate of eligibility for assistance in acquiring specially adapted housing or a special home adaptation grant was denied because the evidence did not show that he had loss or loss of use of at least one lower extremity, which is required to establish entitlement.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence showed that the veteran used a wheelchair and walker due to his psychiatric medications and a temporary vegetative state, but this does not constitute loss of use of a lower extremity as defined by VA regulations.
- Claimed conditions
- major depressive disorder with cognitive dysfunction, coronary artery disease status post myocardial infarction, degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine, left clavicle fracture, anterior cruciate ligament deficiency of the right knee, left rib fracture, tinnitus, sinusitis status post septoplasty and left turbinectomy, left pneumothorax, excision of cancer lesion from left border of tongue, post-operative right axillary lymph node, post-operative thyroidectomy for adenoma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 2, 2008
- Citation
- 0810792
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,217 · Granted: 46% (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 0810792.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
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 service connection for hearing loss, tinnitus, and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to incomplete medical records and need for further examination.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus, arthritis, and memory loss. The decision found no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's tinnitus is granted as service connected. The issues of foot disability and cardiovascular disorder are remanded for additional development.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus, finding that it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran experienced tinnitus during his active duty service.
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