The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for SMC based on aid and attendance/housebound, finding that there was no factual evidence to support a need for regular aid and attendance prior to December 3, 2012.
The deciding factor: The earliest factually ascertainable date for the need of aid and attendance is the date of the November 2013 VA examination, which occurred after the Veteran's claim was submitted on December 3, 2012.
- Claimed conditions
- schizophrenic reaction, paranoid type, loss of use of bilateral lower extremities (due to peripheral neuropathy secondary to diabetes mellitus type II), shell fragment wound right buttock, shell fragment wound, residual anterior abdominal scar
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 25, 2019
- Citation
- 19149492
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,861 · Granted: 27% (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 19149492.
What this means for you
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's pension claim for survivor's benefits was denied due to the appellant's income exceeding the maximum annual pension rate (MAPR).,Accrued benefits were also denied as there was no pending claim at the time of the Veteran's death.,DIC and compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 are remanded for further action.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for an increased rating for his service-connected schizophrenic reaction, paranoid type and for service connection for a heart condition are being remanded due to the need for additional medical examinations and verification of in-service exposure.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities alone do not render him in need of regular aid and attendance or housebound due to his service-connected conditions. The Board finds that the criteria for SMC based on aid and attendance or by virtue of being housebound have not been met.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for schizophrenia is reopened, and the Board finds that the evidence supports a finding of service connection due to continuity of symptomatology.
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