Citation Nr: 21000607 Decision Date: 01/05/21 Archive Date: 01/05/21 DOCKET NO. 19-30 765 DATE: January 5, 2021 ORDER Eligibility for financial assistance for automobile or other conveyance and adaptive equipment, or for adaptive equipment only, is denied. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran’s service-connected disabilities do not result in loss or loss of use of a hand or foot, permanent impairment of both eyes, severe burn injury, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ankylosis of a knee or hip. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for eligibility for financial assistance for automobile or other conveyance and adaptive equipment, or for adaptive equipment only, have not been met. 38 U.S.C. § 3901, 3902, 5107; 38 C.F.R. § 3.808, 3.350(a)(2). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from August 1963 to August 1985. This appeal is before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) from an August 2018 rating decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office. The matter on appeal was remanded in September 2020. Financial assistance may be provided to an “eligible person” in acquiring an automobile or other conveyance and adaptive equipment, or adaptive equipment only. 38 U.S.C. § 3902(a)(b). Eligibility for assistance to purchase a vehicle and adaptive equipment is warranted where one of the following exists as the result of injury or disease incurred or aggravated during active service: (1) loss or permanent loss of use of one or both feet; (2) loss or permanent loss of use of one or both hands; (3) permanent impairment of vision of both eyes, meaning central visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye, with corrective glasses, or central visual acuity of more than 20/200 if there is a field defect in which the peripheral field has contracted to such an extent that the widest diameter of visual field subtends an angular distance no greater than 20 degrees in the better eye; (4) severe burn injury precluding effective operation of an automobile; (5) amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; or, (6) for adaptive equipment only, ankylosis of one or both knees or one or both hips. 38 U.S.C. § 3901; 38 C.F.R. § 3.808. The term “loss of use of a hand or foot” is defined as existing when “no effective function remains other than that which would be equally well served by an amputation stump at the site of election below the elbow or knee with the use of a suitable prosthetic appliance.” 38 C.F.R. § 3.350(a)(2). The Veteran’s service-connected disabilities are tinnitus, rated 10 percent, and bilateral sensorineural hearing loss and hypertension, each rated noncompensable (0 percent). Eligibility for financial assistance for automobile or other conveyance and adaptive equipment, or for adaptive equipment only, is denied. None of the above criteria for financial assistance under 38 U.S.C. § 3902 have been shown to be met. Moreover, neither the Veteran nor his attorney have specifically argued that the criteria for assistance under 38 U.S.C. § 3902—such as loss of use of one or both feet, as defined in 38 C.F.R. § 3.350(a)(2)—have been met, given the Veteran’s current service-connected disabilities. There is no explanation in the record as to how his service-connected tinnitus or noncompensable hearing loss or hypertension would meet any of these criteria. The record reflects, as noted in April 2018 VA treatment records, that the Veteran suffered a cardiovascular accident (CVA) in 2016 and, as a result, had extreme difficulty ambulating and used a motorized scooter nearly all of the time. In 2020, the Veteran filed a service connection claim for stroke. However, service connection for stroke or CVA has not at this point been granted, these conditions are not service-connected, and the claims for such are not on appeal here. Should service connection be granted for such disability, the Veteran may file another claim for automobile/adaptive equipment based on it. However, the Board must consider the current claim based on the Veteran’s current service-connected disabilities. Based on these, he does not meet the criteria set forth in 38 U.S.C. § 3901 and 38 C.F.R. § 3.808 for eligibility for financial assistance for automobile or other conveyance and adaptive equipment, or for adaptive equipment only, under 38 U.S.C. § 3902. Therefore, his claim for such is denied. JONATHAN B. KRAMER Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Andrew Mack, 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.