The Veteran is granted special monthly compensation (SMC) at the (l) level based on his need for regular aid and attendance due to service-connected disabilities, including PTSD and chronic fatigue syndrome.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's service-connected disabilities result in his incapacity, physical and mental, which requires care or assistance on a regular basis to protect him from hazards or dangers incident to his daily environment.
- Claimed conditions
- Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Chronic fatigue syndrome, Left knee degenerative joint disease status post total knee replacement, Degenerative disc disease (DDD) of the cervical spine with IVDS status post fusion prior to August 15, 2018, and then rated at 20 percent thereafter, Degenerative disc disease with IVDS of the lumbar spine from September 28, 2017, Left face paresthesia prior to August 15, 2018, and an evaluation in excess of 10 percent thereafter, Surgical scar of the cervical spine, Right lower extremity radiculopathy involving the sciatic nerve, Left lower extremity radiculopathy, Left leg paresthesias
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- May 30, 2025
- Citation
- A25048255
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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for PTSD, resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor and finding that his PTSD is related to an in-service military sexual trauma (MST) during a period of ACDUTRA.
- Partly granted
The Veteran was granted an effective date of July 31, 2012, for TDIU and October 22, 2012, for service connection of left and right lower extremity radiculopathy.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of May 17, 2019, for a 70 percent disability rating for PTSD but denied earlier effective dates for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.
- Partly granted
The Board granted readjudication of previously denied claims for service connection for PTSD and COPD, while remanding other issues including entitlement to service connection for an eye disorder, hypertension, tinnitus, a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, TDIU, and an initial rating for PTSD.
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