The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not result in anatomical loss or use of both feet, blindness in both eyes with visual acuity of 5/200 or less, or permanent bedridden status. The Board denied the claim for SMC based on need for regular aid and attendance or housebound status due to lack of evidence supporting such needs.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for SMC based on need for regular aid and attendance or housebound status as there is no evidence demonstrating he requires assistance with activities of daily living or protection from hazards.
- Claimed conditions
- left femur fracture, L4-L5 laminectomy for ruptured disc with residual neuropathy and myopathy to the right leg, hepatitis C, osteomyelitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 10, 2019
- Citation
- 19191970
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 845 · Granted: 39% (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 19191970.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claims for diabetes, gum disease, hypertension, orthopedic foot disorder, left shoulder disorder, right shoulder disorder, hepatitis C, skin disorder of the feet (claimed as trench foot), and an acquired psychiatric disorder (claimed as depression and anxiety) due to errors in duty to assist.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for a higher rating for his left femur fracture with degenerative arthritis of the left knee was dismissed because there was no appealable decision on this issue in the year preceding the June 2021 Notice of Disagreement.
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