The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development regarding his service-connected heart disability and acquired psychiatric disabilities.,Special monthly compensation (SMC) based on a need for regular aid and attendance of another person and/or at the housebound rate is also remanded.
The deciding factor: Additional evidence is needed to properly assess the current severity of the Veteran's service-connected heart and acquired psychiatric disabilities, which may impact his entitlement to SMC.
- Claimed conditions
- Coronary Artery Disease and Ischemic Heart Disease, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder with Depressive Disorder and Alcohol Dependence
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 12, 2019
- Citation
- 19193535
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,088 · Granted: 33% (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 19193535.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's PTSD with Depressive Disorder and Alcohol Dependence is granted an increased disability rating of 70 percent from November 5, 2015 to June 22, 2020. The claim for a higher disability rating remains on appeal.
- 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.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected musculoligamentous strain, right knee, is currently rated at 10 percent and the Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted.
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