Citation Nr: 21041931 Decision Date: 07/10/21 Archive Date: 07/10/21 DOCKET NO. 17-03 590 DATE: July 10, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to special monthly compensation due to the need for aid and attendance and/or due to being housebound is denied. FINDING OF FACT The evidence does not establish that due to the Veteran's service-connected disabilities he is unable to perform the basic functions of self-care and is so helpless as to be in need of the regular aid and attendance of another individual, or that he is housebound. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for an award of special monthly compensation benefits based on the need for regular aid and attendance for the Veteran have not been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1114, 1115, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.350(i), 3.351(a)(2). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION Special monthly compensation is payable where the veteran has a single service-connected disability rated as 100 percent, without resort to individual unemployability, and, in addition: (1) has a 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. This requirement is met when the veteran is substantially confined as a result of his service-connected disabilities to his dwelling and the immediate premises or, if institutionalized, to the ward or clinical areas, and it is reasonably certain that the disability or disabilities and resultant confinement will continue throughout his or her lifetime. 38 U.S.C. § 1114(s); 38 C.F.R. § 3.350(i). Service connection is in effect for major depressive disorder (70% 02/26/2014); prostate cancer with erectile dysfunction (100% 05/06/2011; 20% 02/01/2014); tinnitus (10% 08/02/2017); and, bilateral hearing loss (0% 08/02/2017). The Veteran does not have a service-connected disability ratable at 100 percent, and the relevant evidence does not show that the he is permanently housebound due to his service-connected disabilities. The Veteran has claimed service connection for kidney failure which, was most recently denied in a June 2021 rating decision. At the September 2020 Board hearing, the Veteran asserted that his kidney failure began in 2016 and was related to his hypertension; service connection has not been established for hypertension. 09/23/2020 Hearing Transcript at 7; see 06/28/2021 Rating Decision-Narrative. With regard to his claim for SMC, it was indicated that he needs assistance with catheters due to being on home dialysis due to kidney failure. Id. at 14-15. The Veteran denied requiring any assistance with changing his clothes or any problems related to his residuals of prostate cancer surgery; he denied any prostate symptoms. Id. The medical evidence of record does not reflect that he is housebound due to his psychiatric symptomatology. The February 2021 C&P kidney examination reflects generalized poor health, lethargy, and weakness due to renal dysfunction. As the Veteran's need for assistance and/or his housebound status is not shown to be due to a service-connected disability, there is no basis for an award of SMC due to the need for A&A or due to being housebound. Eric S. Leboff Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board M.W. Kreindler, 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.