The Board denied the Veteran's son's claim for recognition as a 'helpless child' due to permanent incapacity for self-support prior to attaining age 18, finding that evidence showed he was capable of self-support at age 18 and had worked before turning 18.
The deciding factor: The appellant reported working full-time from the age of 14 and continued to work until he became physically disabled around age 22, which contradicted his claim of permanent incapacity for self-support prior to attaining age 18.
- Claimed conditions
- Intellectual Disability, Psychiatric Conditions
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 12, 2024
- Citation
- A24073851
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,081 · Granted: 38% (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 A24073851.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the appellant's claim for DIC benefits based on her being recognized as a helpless child of the deceased Veteran due to permanent incapacity for self-support prior to reaching the age of 18, finding insufficient evidence to support this claim.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, MDD, OCD, ADHD, intellectual disability, and narcissistic personality disorder due to a lack of VA examination and treatment records. The Veteran is presumed to have been in sound health at entry into service.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for a higher disability rating and earlier effective date for service connection of Generalized Anxiety Disorder was denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support an earlier effective date than May 9, 2011, when the Veteran filed his request to reopen his previously denied claims. The current 70 percent disability rating is upheld.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to a lack of evidence and need for further examination.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.