The Veteran's spouse is not blind or nearly so, but her deteriorating eyesight requires significant assistance from the Veteran and results in needing help to avoid hazards in their daily environment. The Board has granted special monthly compensation for aid and attendance.
The deciding factor: The severity of the Veteran’s spouse's deteriorating eyesight necessitates significant assistance with daily tasks and protection from environmental hazards, warranting SMC for aid and attendance.
- Claimed conditions
- Retinitis Pigmentosa, Macular Degeneration
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 50%
- Decision date
- March 5, 2019
- Citation
- 19116083
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,156 · 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 19116083.
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 Veteran's appeal is remanded due to a duty to assist error in the VA examinations prior to the decision. The Board requires further development to determine the severity of his eye disabilities and their relationship to service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claim of service connection for an eye disorder, as secondary to service-connected hypertension and/or diabetes mellitus type II (DMII), due to a duty-to-assist error in obtaining an adequate medical opinion prior to the November 2023 rating decision.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted a 10 percent rating for macular degeneration of both eyes, effective from the date of the decision.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for ED as secondary to diabetes mellitus, type II. The Veteran appealed this decision and the Court vacated it.,The Board also denied service connection for hypertension on a direct or secondary basis (to herbicide exposure or CAD).,Service connection was denied for macular degeneration as secondary to diabetes mellitus, type II.,Service connection was denied for kidney disease as secondary to diabetes mellitus, type II.,Service connection was denied for right upper extremity peripheral neuropathy as secondary to diabetes mellitus, type II.,Service connection was denied for left upper extremity peripheral neuropathy as secondary to diabetes mellitus, type II.,Service connection was denied for right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy as secondary to diabetes mellitus, type II.,Service connection was denied for left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy as secondary to diabetes mellitus, type II.
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