Citation Nr: 22010558 Decision Date: 02/24/22 Archive Date: 02/24/22 DOCKET NO. 15-04 124A DATE: February 24, 2022 ORDER Entitlement for a clothing allowance for calendar year 2014 based on the use of left knee brace is granted. FINDING OF FACT The evidence is at least in equipoise regarding whether the left knee brace worn by the Veteran in calendar year 2014 for a service-connected disability tended to wear and tear or damage his clothing. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for a clothing allowance for calendar year 2014 based on the use of a left knee brace have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1162, 5103, 5103A, 5107; 38 C.F.R. § 3.810. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran had active duty in the Coast Guard from March 1988 to October 2009. The matter is on appeal before the Board of Veterans' Affairs (Board) from a June 2014 letter of determination issued by the North Little Rock Prosthetics, VA Medical Center North Little Rock (VAMC-NLR) in North Little Rock, Arkansas. Pertinently, the letter of determination denied a clothing allowance for calendar year 2014 for bilateral knee braces. The Veteran timely appealed a clothing allowance claim for the left knee brace in a July 2014 notice of disagreement (NOD) and an October 2014 statement of the case was issued by VAMC-NLR upholding the initial denial. In December 2014, the Veteran submitted a substantive appeal. The Veteran was scheduled to testify in a hearing before a Veterans Law Judge in January 2022. His representative cancelled the hearing and withdrew the hearing request on behalf of the Veteran prior to the hearing date. Entitlement for a clothing allowance for calendar year 2014 based on the use of left knee brace The law provides for payment of an annual clothing allowance for each veteran who, because of a service-connected disability, wears or uses a prosthetic or orthopedic appliance (including a wheelchair) which VA determines tends to wear out or tear the clothing of the veteran or uses medication which a physician has prescribed for a skin condition which is due to a service-connected disability and VA determines causes irreparable damage to the veteran's outer garments. 38 U.S.C. § 1162. The provisions of 38 C.F.R. § 3.810(a) authorize a clothing allowance if the Under Secretary for Health or a designee certifies that a veteran, because of a service-connected disability or disabilities, wears or uses one qualifying prosthetic or orthopedic appliance which tends to wear or tear clothing. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.810(a)(1)(ii)(A). More than one clothing allowance can be awarded if multiple types of garments are affected, or if a single type of clothing is subject to an increased rate of wear and tear due to more than one prosthetic or orthopedic appliance, medication for more than one skin condition, or an appliance and a medication. 38 C.F.R. § 3.810(a)(2)-(3). The Veteran is service connected for left knee medial meniscectomy with partial synovectomy and chondral shaving and left knee patellofemoral arthritis, status post anterior cruciate ligament repair and medial meniscectomy with partial synovectomy and chondral shaving (left knee disability). The evidence demonstrates that the Veteran wore a left knee brace to assist in alleviating his pain. In a June 2014 evaluation by the Prosthetic and Sensory Aids Service, the evaluator noted that the left knee brace was a hinged brace covered in fabric. Therefore, the VAMC-NLR denied the clothing allowance claim as knee braces with well-covered metal hinges had been determined by VA to not cause damage or wear and tear to clothing. The Veteran explained in his July 2014 NOD and December 2014 substantive appeal that he agreed with the VAMC-NLR's reasoning in that well-covered hinges would not cause damage or wear and tear to clothing. However, although the hinges of his brace remained covered initially, the hinges slid out of their protective cover after repeated use and came into contact with his clothing, causing the contended damage. Additionally, even when the braces remained under their protective cover (and did not come into contact with clothing), the brace caused unnatural stress over the seams and stretched his trousers out. The Veteran, as a lay person, is aware of the effects on his clothing caused by his left knee brace as this is an observable consequence of the left knee brace. He is therefore competent to report seeing wear and tear on his clothing. See Layno v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 465, 469 (1994). The Board acknowledges the Veteran's explanations as to how the left knee brace damaged his clothing and finds them credible. In summary, in the absence of significant evidence to the contrary, the Board finds that the evidence is at least in relative equipoise regarding a clothing allowance based on the use of left knee brace. Resolving all reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor, the Board finds that the criteria for a clothing allowance for calendar year 2014 are met based on his use of a left knee brace for a service-connected disability. L. M. BARNARD Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board J. Lee 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.