The Veteran's claim for special monthly pension based on the need for aid and attendance or being housebound is REMANDED due to a lack of recent VA examination and treatment records, as well as potential need for additional rating assignments.
The deciding factor: The Veteran requires an updated VA examination and treatment records to determine his current disability status and whether he needs aid and attendance or is considered homebound.
- Claimed conditions
- headaches, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), partial sacralization of the lumbar spine with bulging disc L1-L5, and history of wedging at T12-S1 with chronic radicular pain of the right lower extremity, degenerative joint disease of the left shoulder with crepitus and limitation of motion, constant tinnitus with hearing loss, sinusitis with chronic allergic rhinitis, benign prostatic hypertrophy, dermatitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 7, 2015
- Citation
- 1500519
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 1500519.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete development of records and will provide a supplemental statement of the case if necessary.
- Partly granted
The Board has not made a final determination on the claims of service connection for inguinal hernia, PTSD, joint pain, fibromyalgia, left knee disability, right knee disability, tinnitus, chronic fatigue syndrome, respiratory disability, sleep disorder, IBS, and headaches. The claims are remanded to obtain additional evidence and determine if these conditions are related to service.
- Denied
The Veteran's respiratory disability, including asthma and COPD, is denied as service connection is not warranted due to the condition being solely attributed to smoking.
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