The Board has determined that a remand is necessary to assess the Veteran's need for regular aid and attendance due to his service-connected disabilities, as the prior evaluations were not clear in indicating whether they alone give rise to such a need.
The deciding factor: The need for regular aid and attendance must be established based on the actual requirement of personal assistance from others, considering factors like inability to dress or feed oneself, requiring special appliances, attending to wants of nature, or needing care due to incapacity in daily environment. The prior evaluations were not clear enough.
- Claimed conditions
- need for regular aid and attendance
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 7, 2021
- Citation
- 21040844
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 21040844.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for SMC based on the need of regular aid and attendance was denied as he is in receipt of the earliest possible effective date for his claim, which is June 3, 2018.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for further action regarding entitlement to SMC based on loss of use of bilateral upper and lower extremities, as well as higher rates of SMC given the need for aid and attendance.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal of SMC based on the need for regular aid and attendance was dismissed because the denial had not occurred at the time he submitted his appeal. The Board found that the issue was premature as a final decision had not been made.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted special monthly compensation (SMC) based on the need for regular aid and attendance. The issue of SMC based on housebound status is dismissed as moot.
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