The Veteran's step-son, F.B., was found to be permanently incapable of self-support prior to his 18th birthday due to intellectual disabilities and physical impairments. The Board granted recognition as a helpless child.
The deciding factor: F.B.'s disabilities rendered him unable to sustain employment and required constant care from the Veteran and his wife, meeting the definition of a helpless child for VA benefits.
- Claimed conditions
- Permanent incapacity for self-support, Intellectual disability, Cerebral palsy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 30, 2019
- Citation
- 19182172
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, MDD, ADHD, OCD, intellectual disability, and narcissistic personality disorder, as the evidence did not support a finding of in-service incurrence or aggravation.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to non-compliance with prior remand directives regarding obtaining records from Social Security Administration (SSA) for M.E.R. and providing an addendum opinion.
- Granted
The Veteran's stepson, P.B., is recognized as his 'helpless child' for the purpose of additional dependency compensation due to permanent incapacity for self-support prior to attaining age 18. The claim was reopened based on new evidence showing a common-law marriage between the Veteran and P.B.'s mother before P.B.'s 18th birthday.
- Denied
The Board denied the Appellant's request for an earlier effective date for VA death benefits based on permanent incapacity for self-support, finding that August 26, 2014 is the earliest appropriate date due to procedural history and lack of timely reopening requests.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.