The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including PTSD and low back pain with degenerative disc disease, necessitate the need for regular aid and attendance of another person. The Board granted SMC based on this requirement.
The deciding factor: The Veteran’s cognitive abilities were assessed by his treating psychiatrist (H.J.), who noted that he required assistance with activities of daily living due to his service-connected disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), low back pain with degenerative disc disease, decreased sensation of the right lower extremity, residuals of injury to the right fourth finger, post-operative epigastric hernia, residuals of a facial contusion and lacerations of the chin and lip, residuals of fracture of the symphysis of the mandible, residuals of maxilla zygomatic complex injury
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 50%
- Decision date
- October 2, 2019
- Citation
- 19176135
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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for PTSD, resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor and finding that his PTSD is related to an in-service military sexual trauma (MST) during a period of ACDUTRA.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of May 17, 2019, for a 70 percent disability rating for PTSD but denied earlier effective dates for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.
- Partly granted
The Board granted readjudication of previously denied claims for service connection for PTSD and COPD, while remanding other issues including entitlement to service connection for an eye disorder, hypertension, tinnitus, a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, TDIU, and an initial rating for PTSD.
- Denied
The appeal for service connection for PTSD was dismissed, and the claims for a compensable rating for the lower back scar, service connection for COPD, and peripheral artery disease were denied.
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