The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have resulted in a regular need of aid and attendance, warranting the grant of special monthly compensation (SMC) based on the need for aid and attendance.
The deciding factor: The evidence established that the Veteran requires regular aid and attendance due to his service-connected conditions, which render him so helpless as to require assistance with activities of daily living.
- Claimed conditions
- PTSD with depression, Radiculopathy of the right upper extremity, Herniated lumbar disc with spinal instability, anterior spondylolisthesis and intervertebral disc syndrome, status post fusion, Residuals of neck injury, Radiculopathy of the left upper extremity, Radiculopathy of the left lower extremity (sciatic nerve), Radiculopathy of the right lower extremity (sciatic nerve), Radiculopathy of the left lower extremity (femoral nerve), Radiculopathy of the right lower extremity (femoral nerve), Residuals of surgical scar, Dermatitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 6, 2023
- Citation
- 23000968
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.
- Partly granted
The Board denied a higher rating for hypertension but granted a 10% rating for the left (minor) long/middle finger, while denying compensable ratings for the other fingers and dermatitis.
- Granted
The Board granted an earlier effective date of November 25, 2020, for the award of a 30 percent rating for dermatitis and psoriasis.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims that five prior rating decisions were products of clear and unmistakable error. The Board found that the Veteran's arguments constituted disagreements with how the Agency of Original Jurisdiction weighed evidence in final prior decisions, which cannot rise to the level of valid CUE claims.
- Granted
The Board granted a 30 percent rating for the service-connected left upper extremity radiculopathy, effective from August 3, 2023.
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