Citation Nr: 20022055 Decision Date: 03/30/20 Archive Date: 03/30/20 DOCKET NO. 15-36 134 DATE: March 30, 2020 ORDER Entitlement to special monthly pension (SMP) based on the need for aid and attendance is granted. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran is in need of the regular aid and attendance of another person as a result of his service-connected disabilities. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for entitlement to SMP based on the need for aid and attendance have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5103, 5103A, 5107 (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.303, 3.310(a) (2019). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from February 1985 to December 1986 and from June 1999 to March 2001. The Veteran contends that his service-connected disabilities, notably his psychiatric disorder, requires the regular aid and attendance of another person. SMP is payable at a specified rate if the Veteran, as the result of service-connected disability, is permanently bedridden or so helpless as to be in need of regular A&A. 38 U.S.C. § 1114 (l); 38 C.F.R. § 3.350 (b). The following will be accorded consideration in determining the need for regular A&A: inability of claimant to dress or undress himself, or to keep himself ordinarily clean and presentable; frequent need of adjustment of any special prosthetic or orthopedic appliances which by reason of the particular disability cannot be done without aid (this will not include the adjustment of appliances which normal persons would be unable to adjust without aid, such as supports, belts, lacing at the back, etc.); inability of claimant to feed himself through loss of coordination of upper extremities or through extreme weakness; inability to attend to the wants of nature; or incapacity, physical or mental, which requires care or assistance on a regular basis to protect the claimant from hazards or dangers incident to her daily environment. “Bedridden” will be a proper basis for the determination. A Veteran will be found to be bedridden if the condition actually requires that he remain in bed, but not if he voluntarily stays in bed or if a physician merely recommends bed rest. It is not required that all the disabling conditions enumerated in this paragraph be found to exist before a favorable rating may be made. The particular personal functions that the Veteran is unable to perform should be considered in connection with his condition as a whole. It is only necessary that the evidence establish that the Veteran is so helpless as to need regular aid and attendance, not that there be a constant need. Determinations that the Veteran is so helpless, as to be in need of regular aid and attendance aid and attendance will not be based solely upon an opinion that the Veteran’s condition is such as would require him to be in bed. They must be based on the actual requirement of personal assistance from others. For the following reasons and bases, the Board finds that entitlement to SMP based on the need for regular aid and attendance is warranted. The Veteran is currently service-connected for major depressive disorder with unspecified anxiety disorder and macular scar of the left eye. The Board notes the Veteran was awarded special monthly compensation based on housebound criteria in March 2020. The Board has reviewed the entire record on appeal, medical and lay evidence, and finds that the Veteran is so helpless as to require the regular aid and attendance of another person as a result of his service-connected disabilities, particularly his psychiatric disorder. Notably, a February 2020 aid and attendance examination revealed the Veteran required assistance with many activities of daily living due in part to memory loss, short term most affected. He was not able to prepare his own meals in part because he was forgetful and left the gas stove on. He also needed medication management as he was forgetful and suffered from confusion. The examiner noted the Veteran did not have the mental capacity to manage his own benefit payments. A March 2020 advisory opinion found the Veteran was in need of aid and attendance as a result of his mental disability, which required care or assistance on a regular basis to protect the Veteran from hazards or dangers incident to his daily environment. The opinion indicated that the Veteran could not prepare his own meals and required medication management due to physical and psychological issues. The opinion further found the Veteran suffered from memory issues and consequently, required assistance with many activities of daily living. Therefore, affording the Veteran all reasonable doubt, the claim for SMP based on the need for aid and attendance is granted. 38 U.S.C. § 1114 (l); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.350 (b), 3.352(a). E. I. VELEZ Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board K. L. Wallin, Counsel The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.