Citation Nr: 18156696 Decision Date: 12/11/18 Archive Date: 12/10/18 DOCKET NO. 16-35 196A DATE: December 11, 2018 ORDER Payment of a clothing allowance for a knee brace for calendar year 2015 is denied. FINDING OF FACT 1. The Veteran served on active duty from May 2009 to March 2010 with prior active duty for training from November 1984 to May 1985. 2. The Veteran is in receipt of service-connected disability benefits for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), dermatitis, pes planus, sleep apnea, migraine headaches, left knee degenerative joint disease, tinnitus, hypertension, right knee patellofemoral syndrome, left eye trauma, bilateral hearing loss, hemorrhoids, and erectile dysfunction. 3. The Veteran did not use a knee brace for a service-connected left knee disability that tended to wear and tear his clothing in 2015. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for payment of a clothing allowance for a left knee brace for calendar year 2015 have not been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1162, 5107 (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.810 (2018). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION Pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 3.810, except as provided for incarcerated veterans, a veteran who has a service-connected disability, or a disability compensable under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 as if it were service connected, is entitled, upon application therefore, to an annual clothing allowance, which is payable in a lump sum, as specified in this paragraph. One clothing allowance is payable if a VA examination or a hospital or examination report from a facility specified in § 3.326(b) establishes that the veteran, because of a service-connected disability or disabilities due to loss or loss of use of a hand or foot compensable at a rate specified in §3.350(a), (b), (c), (d), or (f), wears or uses one qualifying prosthetic or orthopedic appliance (including, but not limited to, a wheelchair) which tends to wear or tear clothing; or the Under Secretary for Health or a designee certifies that (A) a veteran, because of a service-connected disability or disabilities, wears or uses one qualifying prosthetic or orthopedic appliance (including, but not limited to, a wheelchair) which tends to wear or tear clothing; or (B) a veteran uses medication prescribed by a physician for one skin condition, which is due to a service-connected disability, that causes irreparable damage to the veteran’s outer garments. An additional clothing allowance is available for each prosthetic or orthopedic appliance (including, but not limited to, a wheelchair) or medication used by a veteran if that appliance or medication (i) satisfies the requirements of 38 C.F.R. § 3.810 (a)(1), above; and, (ii) affects a distinct type of article or clothing or outergarment. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.810(a)(2). The Veteran applied for clothing allowances for calendar year 2015 for damage to his clothing from a left knee brace. The appeal was denied because the evidence for the year did not document continued use of the device, including no sign of recent maintenance, repair, or replacement. Thus, payment of a clothing allowance was denied on the basis that the brace was not being used and needed to be evaluated each year. Service connection is in effect for PTSD, dermatitis, pes planus, sleep apnea, migraine headaches, left knee degenerative joint disease, tinnitus, hypertension, right knee patellofemoral syndrome, left eye trauma, bilateral hearing loss, hemorrhoids, and erectile dysfunction. The Veteran argued that he uses the brace 365 days per year, and VA treatment notes dated in 2015, after the initial denial of the claim, show that he was using the brace and that he was being educated on how to decrease use. Therefore, he was using the left knee brace during calendar year 2015. VA prosthetic records show that the Veteran was provided a knee orthosis (KO) in April 2014, but the exact design of the brace was not noted. However, he has also not offered any specific evidence as to how the brace was causing wear and tear to his clothing. He has merely stated that the device causes wear and tear, which is no more than a reiteration of the regulatory criteria for a clothing allowance. As he has not offered any evidence to demonstrate such wear and tear, and the knee brace does not otherwise constitute an item for which a clothing allowance is granted, the claim for a clothing allowance for a knee brace is denied. Of final note, the Veteran has not raised any other issues, nor have any other issues been reasonably raised by the record, for the Board’s consideration. See Doucette v. Shulkin, 28 Vet. App. 366, 369-370 (2017) (confirming that the Board is not required to address issues unless they are specifically raised by the claimant or reasonably raised by the evidence of record). L. HOWELL Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD K. M. Schaefer, Counsel