The Veteran's back brace was found to cause wear and tear on his clothing, which meets the criteria for a clothing allowance. The Board granted this claim based on the evidence being in equipoise as to whether the back brace caused such wear and tear.
The deciding factor: The decision is based on the finding that the Veteran's back brace causes wear and tear on his clothing, despite conflicting opinions from the Prosthetics and Orthotics Advisory Committee.
- Claimed conditions
- Back Brace
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- May 9, 2019
- Citation
- 19135923
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,726 · Granted: 19% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 19135923.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board allowed the benefit or issue identified in this decision. Review the original order: other issues in the same appeal may have a different outcome, and this decision does not predict another claim.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's back brace caused wear and tear to his shirts, which is sufficient evidence for a clothing allowance in 2020.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to missing relevant documents from the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). The AOJ needs to reconstruct the record and associate all pertinent records with the electronic claims file.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's clothing allowance claims for use of a back brace, bilateral ankle braces, right knee brace, shoe inserts (orthotics), and topical cream due to insufficient evidence regarding the types of devices used and their impact on clothing. The AOJ is instructed to seek clarification from the Veteran and obtain relevant documentation.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's request for clothing allowances based on the use of back and left knee braces is remanded due to missing VA treatment records and prosthetic records.
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