The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including right, below-the-elbow amputation and bilateral hearing loss, render him in need of regular aid and attendance. The Board has granted an increased rate of SMC based on this need.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, particularly his bilateral hearing loss and the need for assistance with personal care, meet the criteria for SMC based on the need for regular aid and attendance.
- Claimed conditions
- {"conditionName":"Right, below-the-elbow amputation"}, {"conditionName":"Left median nerve paralysis due to burns"}, {"conditionName":"Bilateral hearing loss"}, {"conditionName":"Burn scars (head, neck, left arm, left forearm, and base of right toe)"}, {"conditionName":"Right-sided tinnitus"}
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- March 15, 2010
- Citation
- 1009592
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 1009592.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board allowed the benefit or issue identified in this decision. Review the original order: other issues in the same appeal may have a different outcome, and this decision does not predict another claim.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Veteran's claims of service connection for cervical degenerative disc disease, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus have been withdrawn. The claim of an increased disability rating for right anterior leg tibialis muscle hernia has also been withdrawn.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board has denied reopening of claims for service connection for right pterygium, bilateral hearing loss, otitis externa, and sinusitis due to lack of new and material evidence.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's appeal for a higher disability rating for lung cancer residuals was pending at the time of his death. His April 2005 pulmonary function test results supported an award of a 60 percent disability rating, which is granted as accrued benefits.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
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