Glaucoma Board decisions

The Board has remanded the cases for obtaining service treatment records from the Veteran's Air National Guard duty and updated VA treatment records. The issues are related to whether his preexisting bilateral pes planus was aggravated by active service, and if he developed glaucoma during this period.

The Veteran's left eye disability is rated at 20 percent prior to September 15, 2022. The appeal for a higher rating remains pending and additional development is required.

The Veteran's claims for service connection have been denied. The Board has remanded several issues, including those related to bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, as well as some of the disability evaluations.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for mesothelioma is denied.,Service connection granted for glaucoma, psychiatric disability, and respiratory disability. The effective date of the grant of service connection for hypertension is set at June 29, 2021.

The Board denied the Veteran's appeal because his June 2022 VA Form 9 was not timely filed, more than one year after the original rating decision and more than 60 days after the SOC.

The Veteran's eye conditions, including diabetic retinopathy and other related conditions like bilateral end stage glaucoma, bilateral optic nerve atrophy, right nuclear cataract, and left pseudophakia, are being remanded for further evaluation due to a duty-to-assist error.

The Veteran's appeal for service connection of his eye disabilities is remanded due to the need for additional development and consideration.

The Veteran's service-connected diabetic retinopathy with open angle glaucoma and diabetic cortical cataracts are currently rated at 50 percent effective March 2, 2016. The Board denied a higher initial rating.

The Board has identified a duty-to-assist error in the July 2022 decision and has ordered that the claims for diabetes mellitus and glaucoma of the right eye as secondary to diabetes mellitus be remanded to obtain VA treatment records from 1965 to 2003.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including right foot amputation and peripheral neuropathy, have resulted in loss of use of his right foot. The Board has determined that he is eligible for financial assistance to purchase an automobile and adaptive equipment due to this condition.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to properly assess the Veteran's right eye disability, including obtaining relevant medical records and scheduling a new examination. The issues of entitlement to a compensable rating for the disability prior to April 3, 2018, and entitlement to a rating in excess of 20 percent from that date are remanded.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including respiratory condition, bilateral hearing loss, and eye conditions, rendered him unable to secure or maintain substantially gainful employment from November 14, 2014 to April 25, 2021. From April 26, 2021, the Veteran's combined rating is at least 60 percent due to his respiratory condition and other service-connected disabilities, which makes TDIU moot.

The Board has remanded the case due to issues regarding the rating for diabetes mellitus and its complications, including whether separate ratings are warranted. The Veteran's service-connected diabetic complications (neuropathy and nephropathy) need to be evaluated based on their earliest onset date, which is not specified in the decision.

The Veteran's service-connected diabetic retinopathy with pseudophakia of the right eye and cataract of the left eye associated with diabetes mellitus is currently rated at 30 percent. The Board denied an increased rating, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on visual impairment.

The Veteran's appeal for increased ratings and service connection has been withdrawn, resulting in the dismissal of all related claims.

The Board denied service connection for a bilateral eye disability, finding that the evidence did not support a link to active duty service.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection of Reiter's syndrome, uveitis/iritis of the bilateral eyes, glaucoma, and high blood pressure (hypertension) as secondary to service-connected syphilis due to inadequate medical opinions.

The Board has remanded the cases for further development and examination, including obtaining additional medical records and scheduling examinations to assess the Veteran's service-connected glaucoma and optic atrophy.

The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate medical opinions regarding the Veteran's eye disabilities, specifically pseudophakia, cataract, glaucoma, hypersensitive retinopathy, optic atrophy, and color blindness. The VA is required to obtain an adequate medical opinion addressing these issues.

The Veteran's TDIU claim is moot as he is already receiving a higher level of compensation through SMC (l) than what would be provided by an award of SMC (s).