The Board has remanded the case due to the need for further development regarding the appellant's entitlement to special monthly pension (SMP) based on her need for aid and attendance, including a VA examination.
The deciding factor: The decision was remanded because the appellant raised concerns about legal blindness and the need for aid and attendance, which could affect her pension benefits.
- Claimed conditions
- legal blindness, need for aid and attendance
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 17, 2024
- Citation
- 24002415
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 964 · Granted: 37% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 24002415.
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 Veteran seeks an earlier effective date for the grant of SMC-T benefits based on a need for aid and attendance. The Board finds that the AOJ committed Clear and Unmistakable Error (CUE) in its December 2019 rating decision, but lacks legal authority to adjudicate CUE motions. Therefore, the claim is remanded for the AOJ to address these issues.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's left eye disability, including incomplete service treatment records and an inadequate VA examiner's opinion. The AOJ is instructed to seek complete copies of the Veteran's service medical records and obtain a new examination with an adequate opinion addressing the likely cause of his eye disability.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal to increase the level of special monthly compensation based on aid and attendance was dismissed as the July 2025 VA Form 10182 did not identify the date of the April 2023 Board decision.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for HIV and legal blindness due to ongoing evidentiary deficiencies and failure of the RO to fully comply with prior remand directives.
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