The Board denied the Veteran's claim for SMC based on statutory housebound status as he does not have a single service-connected disability rated totally disabling, to include consideration of total disability based on individual unemployability (TDIU).
The deciding factor: The Veteran has multiple service-connected disabilities but no single condition is sufficiently severe to cause unemployability.
- Claimed conditions
- obstructive sleep apnea, asthma, adjustment disorder with depressed and anxious features, migraines, left upper extremity dystaxia and left shoulder radiculopathy, left lower extremity dystaxia, right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy of the sciatic nerve, right shoulder radiculopathy, right knee patellofemoral syndrome, left knee patellofemoral syndrome, cervical spine strain, vertigo, gastroesophageal reflux disease, allergic rhinitis, essential hypertension
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- April 21, 2021
- Citation
- 21023908
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 21023908.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for migraines was reopened due to new evidence. Service connection is granted for painful scars, but the rating assigned remains at 10 percent. The claims for fibromyalgia and bilateral shoulder disability are denied.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, finding that there is no competent evidence to support a finding that his current condition began in or as a result of service.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board of Veterans' Appeals (BVA) has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea as there is no current diagnosis of this condition during the appeal period.
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