The Veteran's request for independent living services is denied as the additional training or help with psychosocial rehabilitation and courses in grant writing, meditation, art and photography (including purchase of art supplies, photography equipment, computers, scanners and cameras) is not required to allow him to achieve independent living.
The deciding factor: VA has wide discretion in approving such services but they must be 'necessary' to achieving the goal of independent living. The Veteran's service-connected disabilities are severe enough that additional training or help would not be necessary for him to achieve independence.
- Claimed conditions
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Traumatic Arthritis of the Lumbar Spine with Disc Disease, Diabetes Mellitus, Renal Insufficiency/renal hypertension, Thoracic Spinal Traumatic Arthritis with Disc Disease, Peripheral Artery Disease of the Right Lower Extremity associated with Diabetes Mellitus, Tinnitus, Atrial Fibrillation, Peripheral Neuropathy of the Left Upper Extremity, Peripheral Neuropathy of the Right Upper Extremity, Peripheral Neuropathy of the Right Lower Extremity, Peripheral Neuropathy of the Left Lower Extremity, Left Rib Cage Scar, Impotency, Peripheral Artery Disease of the Left Lower Extremity
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 13, 2010
- Citation
- 1046460
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 1046460.
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.
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The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are not related to his military service.
- Granted
Service connection for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is granted. The appeal as to the issue of entitlement to service connection for erectile dysfunction is dismissed.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for a higher rating for PTSD and dismissed his appeals regarding increased ratings for tinnitus and a right hand disability due to lack of timely filing of Notice of Disagreement.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including GAD, MDD, bruxism, migraines/headaches, tinnitus, hip pain, iliotibial band syndrome, and leg stress fractures. The evidence does not support current diagnoses of these conditions during the appeal period.
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