The Board denied service connection for defective vision, finding that the decreased visual acuity was due to refractive errors (myopia and astigmatism) present during military service. The macular degeneration, which first manifested many years after discharge, is unrelated to service.
The deciding factor: Service connection may not be granted for congenital developmental refractive errors like myopia and astigmatism, and the veteran's current macular degeneration began when he was in his sixties, long after military service.
- Claimed conditions
- Defective vision, Macular degeneration
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- December 28, 2000
- Citation
- 0033913
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0033913.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied a disability rating in excess of 70 percent for the Veteran's service-connected psychiatric disability and remanded issues related to back and macular degeneration disabilities.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied service connection for a psychiatric disability, to include PTSD, due to the lack of evidence showing a current diagnosis and an in-service stressor. The claim was also remanded for further development regarding macular degeneration.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to legal inadequacies in the notification letter and a pre-decisional duty-to-assist error, as well as an inadequate medical decision regarding eligibility for higher-level PCAFC benefits.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for a disability rating in excess of 50 percent for his psychiatric disability, service connection for his back disability, and service connection for macular degeneration due to outstanding VA treatment records and the need for additional examinations.
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