Citation Nr: 18143077
Decision Date: 10/18/18	Archive Date: 10/17/18

DOCKET NO. 18-01 150
DATE:	October 18, 2018
ORDER
Special monthly compensation (SMC) based on the need for the regular aid and attendance of another person is denied.
FINDING OF FACT
The Veteran’s service connected disabilities alone do not render him in need of the regular aid and attendance of another person.
CONCLUSION OF LAW
The criteria for entitlement to SMC based on the need for aid and attendance are not met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1114, 5103, 5103A; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.350, 352(a).
REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION
The Veteran had active duty from November 1947 December 1967.
Entitlement to a higher rating for SMC based on need for aid and attendance.
The Veteran asserts that he is entitled to SMC based on the need for regular aid and attendance of another person.
The Board concludes that the preponderance of the evidence is against the claim of entitlement to SMC based on the need for regular aid and attendance of another person.  38 U.S.C. §§ 1114, 5103, 5103A; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.350, 352(a).
The Veteran is service-connected for PTSD (100%;) Meniere’s syndrome (30%); diabetes mellitus (20%); tinnitus (10%); pilonidal cyst (10%); peripheral neuropathy, left lower extremity (10%); and peripheral neuropathy, right lower extremity (20%).  He has a combined rating of 100 percent; and he is also in receipt of SMC at the housebound rate.
Having carefully reviewed the evidence of record, neither the lay nor the medical evidence shows that the Veteran requires the regular aid and attendance of another due to service-connected disability alone.  July 2015 and December 2017 reflect that the Veteran has need for aid and attendance of another due to nonservice-connected conditions.  The July 2015 VA examination noted diagnoses for legal blindness, diabetes, hypertension, PTSD, unsteady gait with multiple falls, other non-service-connected disorders.  The December 2017 VA examination noted diagnoses for legal blindness, age related physical and cognitive decline, and PTSD.
The medical evidence reflects that the Veteran is unable to prepare his own meals; he had an unsteady gait and was susceptible to falling; he was unable to bathe himself or attend to his other personal hygiene needs; he was incontinent of both bowel and bladder.  The record shows that the Veteran resides in a nursing home and used a wheelchair and walker for ambulation.  There is no indication that the Veteran’s limitations necessitating the assistance of another person are related to only his service connected disabilities.
Although he has cognitive decline, this is noted to be age related and not linked to service-connected PTSD.  Although he has restricted ambulatory ability due to the reduced strength of the lower extremities, the medical evidence does not link this to service-connected peripheral neuropathy or other service-connected disability, and there is no indication that this alone requires him to have the regular aid and attendance of another person.
The Board accepts the Veteran’s reports of symptoms and problems necessitating aid and attendance as competent and credible.  In December 2017, he reported that benefits were warranted due to his blindness and deafness, wheelchair confinement, and his need for assisted living care.  The impairments described by the Veteran as necessitating the regular aid and attendance of another are not shown to be due to service-connected disabilities.  Thus, while, the lay and medical evidence are both probative, on balance, the weight of the evidence is against the claim.
Accordingly, the claim is denied.  There is no doubt to resolve.  38 U.S.C. § 5107(b).
 
 C.A. SKOW
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	N. Sangster, Counsel