The Board of Veterans' Appeals found that the veteran's current left eye blindness is due to his pre-existing glaucoma, which was aggravated by noncompliance with prescribed medication. The surgery did not cause additional disability or blindness.
The deciding factor: The veteran's current left eye blindness is due to the natural progression of his pre-existing glaucoma exacerbated by non-compliance with prescribed medications, and not from the 1976 VA surgery.
- Claimed conditions
- Left Eye Blindness, Glaucoma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 22, 2002
- Citation
- 0201778
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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0201778.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error regarding VA's obligation to obtain relevant records from the Social Security Administration.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for a low back disability, pseudofolliculitis barbae (PFB), and glaucoma.
- Denied
The Board denied an increased rating for PTSD and remanded the claim for service connection for glaucoma.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for a back disability and an earlier effective date for TDIU and Dependents' Educational Assistance, but remanded the claim for glaucoma.
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