The Board denied the Veteran's claim for special monthly compensation (SMC) based on loss of use of both feet, finding that his paraplegia and loss of use of his lower extremities are not related to his service-connected coronary artery disease (CAD).
The deciding factor: The medical opinion concluded that the Veteran’s paraplegia is not a result of his service-connected CAD.
- Claimed conditions
- CAD (Coronary Artery Disease), Aortic Aneurysm, Paraplegia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 24, 2019
- Citation
- 19105958
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,319 · Granted: 25% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 19105958.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's CAD warrants a 60 percent rating, but the Board has determined that an earlier effective date is warranted due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding direct service connection.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for an increased rating of 100 percent for CAD was granted effective November 28, 2023. The effective date is based on the date of a VA examination showing the increase in disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a lack of consideration of potentially favorable evidence regarding the Veteran's need for personal care services and supervision.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for CAD and remanded the issue of service connection for granulomatous disease.
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