The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for further evaluation regarding his entitlement to higher levels of SMC and a rating increase for his residual left knee injury. The Board found that he does not meet the legal criteria for SMC under 38 U.S.C. § 1114(o) based on the lack of anatomical loss or use in his feet, hands, or eyes.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's functional abilities in his lower extremities and hands do not meet the criteria for loss of use as defined by VA regulations.
- Claimed conditions
- Dysthymic disorder, Chronic fatigue syndrome, Epilepsy, Mucous colitis, Residuals of lumbar strain, Tinnitus, Eczema, Gingival overgrowth, Right knee arthritis, Left knee injury, Left lower extremity radiculopathy, Right Achilles rupture, Left wrist fracture, Right thumb, Chronic sinusitis, Chronic bronchitis, Herpes simplex, Impotence
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 24, 2019
- Citation
- 19105934
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 granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's conditions are related to in-service noise exposure.
- Partly granted
The Veteran was granted an effective date of July 31, 2012, for TDIU and October 22, 2012, for service connection of left and right lower extremity radiculopathy.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of May 17, 2019, for a 70 percent disability rating for PTSD but denied earlier effective dates for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.
- Partly granted
The Board granted readjudication of previously denied claims for service connection for PTSD and COPD, while remanding other issues including entitlement to service connection for an eye disorder, hypertension, tinnitus, a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, TDIU, and an initial rating for PTSD.
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