The Veteran's service-connected disabilities render him in need of regular aid and attendance of another person, necessitating the grant of SMC at the aid and attendance rate.
The deciding factor: The Veteran requires assistance with activities such as dressing, bathing, transferring from bed to a chair, and walking due to his service-connected dorsal lumbar scoliosis with hypertrophic arthritis, bilateral arthritis of the hips, and degenerative cervical spondylosis. His non-service-connected disabilities also contribute to his need for aid and attendance.
- Claimed conditions
- Dorsal lumbar scoliosis with hypertrophic arthritis, Bilateral arthritis of the hips, Degenerative cervical spondylosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 50%
- Decision date
- December 27, 2011
- Citation
- 1147016
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 1147016.
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.
- Granted
The Board granted a rating of 40 percent for lumbar degenerative disc disease and 30 percent for degenerative cervical spondylosis, effective March 6, 2016. The claim for an earlier effective date for TDIU was denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's initial claim for a higher rating for cervical spondylosis was denied, with the Board finding that his forward flexion of the cervical spine did not meet the criteria for an increased rating.,The Veteran's PTSD claim is remanded due to insufficient evidence addressing all potential stressors and other acquired psychiatric disorders.
- 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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
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