The Veteran's stepdaughter, K.J., is claimed to be a 'helpless' child due to her mild mental retardation and bilateral leg condition. The Board has ordered the VA to obtain private treatment records from Harwood Center and any related Department of Labor records.
The deciding factor: K.J.'s age and the nature of her disabilities make her ineligible for recognition as a 'helpless' child, necessitating the retrieval of relevant medical records.
- Claimed conditions
- mild mental retardation, bilateral leg condition
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 6, 2023
- Citation
- A23034780
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 A23034780.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has found new and relevant evidence to warrant readjudication of the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral pes planus, a bilateral shoulder condition, a bilateral leg condition, a neck condition, and a keloid condition. These claims are remanded for further adjudication by the AOJ.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided that the Veteran's claims for service connection related to bilateral leg condition, bilateral foot condition, nerve damage (non-specific), and lumbar strain should be remanded due to missing National Guard service treatment records.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for chronic dizziness or vertigo, but remanded the claims for a left shoulder condition, diabetes mellitus, type II, bilateral hip and pelvis conditions, bilateral ankle condition, and bilateral leg condition.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a bilateral foot, leg, hip and low back condition as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were directly related to active-duty service or secondary to a service-connected knee condition.
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