The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for specially adapted housing or a special home adaptation grant due to their impact on his upper and lower extremities, as they do not result in loss of use of both upper or lower extremities.
The deciding factor: The Veteran has multiple service-connected conditions but does not have any that qualify under the specific provisions for specially adapted housing or a special home adaptation grant based on loss of use of limbs or total disability due to certain disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral plantar fasciitis, degenerative arthritis of the spine with lumbosacral strain, irritable bowel syndrome with gastroesophageal reflux disease, headaches, cervical degenerative joint disc disease, intervertebral disc syndrome, major depressive disorder, cervical radiculopathy, right upper extremity, cervical radiculopathy, left upper extremity, hypertension, bilateral hearing loss, sinusitis, tinnitus, radiculopathy of the sciatic nerve, left lower extremity, radiculopathy of the sciatic nerve, right lower extremity, radiculopathy of the anterior crural nerve, right lower extremity, radiculopathy of the anterior crural nerve, left lower extremity, erectile dysfunction
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 19, 2020
- Citation
- A20015720
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.
- Granted
The Board granted an effective date of October 21, 2021, for the grant of service connection for hypertension.
- Dismissed
The appeal for a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss, service connection for right ear hearing loss, and bilateral vision condition was dismissed. Service connection for hypertension, congestive heart failure, and coronary artery disease was denied.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including prostate cancer and related disabilities, urinary incontinence, sleep apnea, hypertension, varicose veins, lumbar spine disability, hip arthritis, shoulder arthritis, ankle arthritis, knee strain, knee replacement, and hand arthritis. The only condition granted was a 10 percent rating for a fracture of the right proximal first metacarpal.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for tinnitus to correct a duty to assist error, as the Veteran's lay statements regarding onset and continuity of symptoms were not adequately considered in the previous decision.
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