The Veteran's service-connected disabilities render him so helpless as to be in need of regular aid and attendance, allowing for SMC based on the need for the regular aid and attendance of another person.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's service-connected disabilities require assistance from others to protect himself from daily environmental hazards due to his visual impairment.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral eye disability, Residuals of gunshot wound (GSW), complete paralysis of right vagus nerve with vocal cord injury, Loss of skull, Residuals GSW with muscle group III injury and axillary nerve palsy, right, Residuals of GSW, disfiguring scars, Right radial nerve paralysis, Diabetes mellitus, Paresthesias of bilateral finger tips
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 50%
- Decision date
- November 9, 2016
- Citation
- 1642961
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 1642961.
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 has granted the Veteran's claim for payment or reimbursement of ambulance travel expenses incurred on June 17, 2025 due to an emergency heart attack. The ambulance service was provided by a volunteer organization and later intercepted by a higher-tier EMT company.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's death was not caused by any service-connected disability, and thus denied his claim for service connection for cause of death.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not preclude him from obtaining or maintaining substantially gainful employment prior to September 28, 2021. From September 28, 2021 to May 22, 2022, the Veteran had a combined total disability rating of 100%, which rendered the issue moot as he was already receiving SMC based on his service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder and diabetes mellitus, but granted TDIU for the period prior to January 26, 2024.,Prior to this decision, the Veteran withdrew his claim of service connection for diabetes mellitus.
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