The Veteran's claim for special monthly compensation (SMC) based on the need for regular aid and attendance or housebound status is remanded due to incomplete information in his VA 21-2680 form. A new VA examination is required to determine if he meets the requirement for aid and attendance due solely to his service-connected disabilities.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's VA 21-2680 form did not specify whether and to what extent his service-connected disabilities impact his ability to engage in certain activities of daily living, nor did it provide an explanation for why he is unable to feed himself or manage his finances. Additionally, the clinician who completed the form did not indicate which of his service-connected conditions are impacting these abilities.
- Claimed conditions
- prurigo, hypothyroidism, actinic keratosis, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), bell's palsy, dry eyes, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, gout, kidney disease, onychocryptosis, seborrheic dermatitis, presbyopia, subclinical hypothyroidism, hypertension
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 5, 2019
- Citation
- 19152149
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,680 · Granted: 24% (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 19152149.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
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The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorders, including bipolar disorder and PTSD. The Veteran will be asked to provide additional medical records and undergo a VA examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and major depressive disorder, is being remanded due to the need for additional development regarding his alleged stressors.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development regarding the Veteran's service connection claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD.
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