Citation Nr: 22010565 Decision Date: 02/24/22 Archive Date: 02/24/22 DOCKET NO. 18-20 372 DATE: February 24, 2022 ORDER An annual clothing allowance for the 2017 calendar year for a wheelchair is granted. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran's wheelchair, used for service-connected disability, for the 2017 calendar year, tended to wear out or tear his clothing. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for a clothing allowance for the 2017 calendar year for a wheelchair are met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1162, 5107; 38 C.F.R. § 3.810. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from February 1977 to November 1981. This appeal is before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) from an October 2017 decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center. 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 implementing regulation, 38 C.F.R. § 3.810, provides, in pertinent part, that an annual clothing allowance may be granted when 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 (including, but not limited to, a wheelchair) which tends to wear or tear clothing, or that 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. 38 C.F.R. § 3.810(a)(1)(ii). An annual clothing allowance for the 2017 calendar year for a wheelchair is granted. The Veteran seeks a clothing allowance for the year 2017 for a wheelchair. He has submitted evidence showing that he has used a wheelchair for ambulation regularly since at least 2014 for service-connected disabilities including loss of both feet due to bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy associated with bilateral pars intra-articularis defect with grade I spondylolisthesis at the L5-S1 level. As reflected in its March 2018 statement of the case, the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) denied the Veteran's claim on the basis that the wheelchair used by the Veteran was a manual wheelchair model that was upholstered and had padded arm rests that would not damage the legs of the pants, and no special modifications such as positioning or posturing adaptations. The AOJ referenced Veterans Health Administration (VHA) guidelines establishing that the type of wheelchair used by the Veteran is not the type considered to tend to wear or tear clothing so as to warrant a clothing allowance. As reflected in his clothing allowance claim and April 2018 substantive appeal to the Board, the Veteran asserts that his wheelchair has vinyl covered areas that provide no padding or cushioning, which tends to wear and tear his clothesspecially, his buttocks and left and right leg areasand which he believes should be eligible for a clothing allowance. Documents describing the Veteran's wheelchair indicate that it is embossed in vinyl upholstery with padded fixed arms, plastic footplates, and a powder-coated silver vain steel frame. The Veteran also submitted a November 2014 VA examination report reflecting that he was housebound and unable to stand, walk, sit, or lift as the result of his service-connected disabilities, and required constant use of a wheelchair. As noted by the AOJ, VHA generally does not recognize non-specialized wheelchairsi.e., manual wheelchairs with clothing guards and without positioning and posturing adaptationsas devices that tend to wear and tear clothing. See VHA Handbook, 1173.15, "Clothing Allowance," May 14, 2015 ("Examples of items that do not tend to tear and wear clothing include: Soft orthotics, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) units, shoes, shoe inserts, non-specialized wheelchairs (sedentary/sitting purposes), scooters, canes, rollador, walkers, elastic/flexible braces, items with Velcro stays, hinged braces covered in fabric (metal stays covered), braces with plastic stays covered in fabric"). However, in this case, given the Veteran's constant confinement to his wheelchair, the Board finds his statements that his wheelchair, while upholstered, nonetheless causes damage to his clothing to be plausible. The only evidence against the Veteran's claim is the VHA guidelines establishing that his wheelchair is not the type generally considered to cause wear and tear to clothing; there are no findings regarding how the Veteran's wheelchair affected his clothes, specifically, as he has asserted, given his constant confinement to it. Considering this, the Board finds that the evidence for and against the Veteran's claim is in approximate balance. Affording the Veteran the benefit of the doubt, the Board finds that his wheelchair, for the 2017 calendar year, tended to wear out or tear his clothing. Accordingly, a clothing allowance is warranted for the 2017 calendar year based on his use of his wheelchair for his service-connected disability. See 38 U.S.C. § 5107. 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.