The Board has set aside its previous decision denying SMC based on the need for aid and attendance, and has ordered a remand to determine if the Veteran's service-connected disabilities alone render him in need of regular aid and attendance.
The deciding factor: The Court found that the Board did not provide an adequate statement of reasons and bases for concluding that the Veteran’s service-connected disabilities do not require regular aid and attendance.
- Claimed conditions
- Right knee amputation disability, Osteomyelitis of the right knee
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 1, 2019
- Citation
- 19159952
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,240 · Granted: 28% (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 19159952.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected conditions do not meet the criteria for special monthly compensation based on the need for aid and attendance due to other non-service connected conditions contributing to his disability picture.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death, finding that the right knee disorder did not contribute substantially or materially to his death from respiratory disorder.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
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