Citation Nr: 18140241 Decision Date: 10/02/18 Archive Date: 10/02/18 DOCKET NO. 16-21 116 DATE: October 2, 2018 ORDER Entitlement to special monthly compensation (SMC) benefits at the housebound rate prior to November 21, 2007, is denied. FINDING OF FACT Prior to November 21, 2007, the Veteran had a single disability rated at 100 percent, but did not have an additional service-connected disability or disabilities independently ratable at 60 percent, separate and distinct from the 100 percent service-connected disability and involving different anatomical segments or bodily systems, nor was he permanently housebound because of service-connected disability or disabilities. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for an effective date prior to November 21, 2007, for the grant of entitlement to a SMC for housebound status have not been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1114, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.350, 3.400, 3.351, 3.352. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from June 1965 to June 1968. Entitlement to SMC benefits at the housebound rate prior to November 21, 2007 The Veteran contends that he is entitled to an effective date prior to November 21, 2007, for the grant of SMC based on housebound status. SMC is payable for housebound status where the veteran has a single service-connected disability rated as 100 percent and (1) has additional service-connected disability or disabilities independently ratable at 60 percent, separate and distinct from the 100 percent service-connected disability and involving different anatomical segments or bodily systems, or (2) is permanently housebound by reason of service-connected disability or disabilities. 38 U.S.C. § 1114 (s); 38 C.F.R. § 3.350 (i). The Veteran is service-connected for PTSD, which was rated 100 percent, effective December 26, 1973. He also is in receipt of a 20 percent disability rating for Type II diabetes mellitus with erectile dysfunction and onychomycosis, effective from March 20, 2003, as well as separate 10 percent disability ratings for peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral lower extremities, effective March 20, 2003, and separate 10 percent ratings for peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper extremities, effective June 7, 2005. Prior to November 21, 2007, the Veteran’s service-connected disabilities, other than his PTSD, were not at least 60 percent disabling. As the Veteran’s attorney acknowledges, the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court) held in Gazelle v. McDonald that the Board properly denied the veteran SMC benefits because, consistent with the plain meaning of 38 U.S.C. § 1114(s), as well as its statutory history and context, the only way multiple disabilities could be rated together for purposes of VA disability compensation was by using the 38 C.F.R. § 4.25 combined ratings table. See Gazelle v. McDonald, 27 Vet. App. 461, 462 (2016). This decision was recently upheld by the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Gazelle v. Shulkin, 868 F.3d 1006 (Fed. Cir. 2017). The Veteran has also never been found to be permanently housebound due to his service-connected disabilities prior November 21, 2007, nor has he so contended. The evidence of record does not show that he was confined to his house (or ward or clinical areas, if institutionalized) or immediate premises due to his service-connected disabilities. Indeed, records prior to November 21, 2007, show that he was attending group counseling therapy for symptoms of his PTSD. A December 2015 VA treatment record stated the Veteran has been paying all his bills and the mortgage on his mother’s home since she passed away about one year ago. The examiner stated that the Veteran has been in long-term recovery for over six years, he was managing his PTSD symptoms, and there was no reason that he could not manage his own financial affairs. Therefore, as the Veteran’s service-connected disabilities, other than PTSD, were not rated as 60 percent disabling prior to November 21, 2007, and the Veteran was not found to be permanently housebound due to his service-connected disabilities, this claim must be denied. 38 U.S.C. § 5107 (b). M. E. Larkin Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD Jack S. Komperda, Counsel