The Veteran's surviving spouse is granted an increase in special monthly compensation (SMC) survivor's benefits based on her housebound status due to medical appointments and chemotherapy.
The deciding factor: The appellant was substantially confined to her home except for medical treatment purposes, meeting the requirements for housebound status under VA regulations.
- Claimed conditions
- breast cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 25, 2019
- Citation
- 19106366
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,500 · Granted: 29% (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 19106366.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claim for service connection for breast cancer, as secondary to her fibrocystic breast disease. The decision is based on a duty to assist error and requires a new VA medical opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's breast cancer.
- Granted
The Veteran's breast cancer is granted service connection, with the Board finding that her condition is at least as likely as not related to exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune during her military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for breast cancer and right knee disability due to a lack of VA examination and opinion addressing the etiology of these conditions in the context of her military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection claim for bilateral tinnitus is granted. The claims for vertigo, breast cancer, left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, left upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, and right upper extremity peripheral neuropathy are remanded due to insufficient development of evidence regarding toxic exposure risk activities (TERA). The claim for coronary atherosclerotic disease is also remanded.
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