The Board denied the appellant's claims for service connection for his variously diagnosed eye disorder, including bilateral macular degeneration, as they were not incurred in or aggravated by service.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not establish a link between the appellant's current eye disability and any incident during service.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral macular degeneration, hereditary panretinal degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa, central areolar choroidal atrophy, atrophic macular degeneration
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- July 7, 2003
- Citation
- 0315058
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 0315058.
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: Dismissed
The Board dismissed the motion to revise a 1968 rating decision denying service connection for retinitis pigmentosa due to the Veteran's death.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to the need for additional development, including obtaining Social Security Administration records and providing an addendum opinion regarding the Veteran's service-connected diabetes mellitus type II and hypertension.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and retinitis pigmentosa, finding no evidence of a nexus to active service.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to inconsistencies in a previous VA examiner's opinion regarding whether the Veteran's bilateral macular degeneration pre-existed service and was aggravated by military service. The case is now pending further clarification from an appropriate medical professional.
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