The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for hyperopia, strabismus, and pterygium as these conditions are considered congenital defects that were not aggravated by or related to his period of active military service.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence does not establish a link between the veteran's current eye conditions and his period of active military service.
- Claimed conditions
- hyperopia, strabismus, pterygium
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- May 9, 2002
- Citation
- 0204308
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 0204308.
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: Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's right eye disability, including right superior oblique palsy and strabismus, finding that it is related to an in-service head trauma.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a lack of an opinion regarding whether the Veteran's acquired eye disorders are secondary to his service-connected hepatitis. The Veteran seeks service connection for these conditions, which include cataracts, strabismus amblyopia, choroidal nevus, and pterygium.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied service connection for a left eye disorder, including amblyopia and other conditions, as there was no evidence of aggravation beyond their natural progression during the Veteran's periods of active duty.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board denied service connection for a vision disability, to include hyperopia and presbyopia, and remanded several other claims including those for kidney, hypertension, sleep apnea, diabetes mellitus, lower extremity neuropathy, hip, knee, heart, neck, upper extremity radiculopathy, and TDIU.
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