The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have rendered him so helpless as to require the regular aid and attendance of another for the period prior to October 14, 2019. The Board finds that his need for regular aid and attendance is established based on his difficulty with dressing, hygiene needs, attending to wants of nature, and physical or mental incapacity.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have rendered him helpless as evidenced by his need for regular aid and attendance due to multiple instances needing assistance in daily activities such as bathing, feeding himself, preparing meals, and managing medications.
- Claimed conditions
- depression, herniated nucleus pulposus with laminectomy and diskectomy with IVDS, degenerative joint disease of the lumbosacral spine, urinary incontinence, residual scars of the lumbar associated with the herniated nucleus pulposus with laminectomy and diskectomy, raticulopathy of the bilateral lower extremities
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 50%
- Decision date
- December 6, 2019
- Citation
- 19191993
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,858 · 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 19191993.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining in-service psychiatric treatment records and scheduling a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of any acquired psychiatric disorder.
- Denied
The Veteran's depression was rated at 50 percent prior to July 1, 2016. The Board found that the evidence did not support a higher rating due to occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity. For TDIU, the Veteran had multiple service-connected disabilities but his education and work experience were sufficient for sedentary or light labor employment.
- Granted
The Veteran's depression was rated at 50 percent prior to September 27, 2017. From September 27, 2017, the rating for depression increased to 70 percent.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals were dismissed due to the death of the appellant. The issues related to service connection for various conditions and disability ratings.
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