The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including his severe back and knee conditions, necessitated the need for regular aid and attendance of another person. The Board granted SMC based on this need.
The deciding factor: The Veteran required assistance with activities of daily living due to multiple significant service-connected disabilities, including degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine and bilateral knees.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic lumbosacral strain, osteoarthritis of the left knee, osteoarthritis of the right knee
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- October 8, 2009
- Citation
- 0938356
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 0938356.
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 Veteran's claim for specially-adapted housing assistance and a special home adaptation grant was denied because he does not meet the criteria for either benefit based on his service-connected disabilities.
- Granted
The Board has granted the restoration of entitlement to total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) and basic eligibility for Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA), effective May 1, 2020. The decision was made due to procedural errors in the previous termination decisions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and a TDIU are being remanded due to procedural errors in the development process. The VA is required to provide an examination to assess the severity of his service-connected left knee disorders, including any meniscal disability or patellar instability.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for osteoarthritis of the left knee is granted. The claim for service connection for osteoarthritis of the left shoulder is remanded.
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