The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for loss of the left eye, finding that his pre-existing defective vision did not worsen during service and that there was no evidence linking the current condition to any incident in service.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence did not show an increase in severity of the pre-existing defect in vision during service, nor could it be linked to a specific incident in service.
- Claimed conditions
- Loss of left eye
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- January 22, 2004
- Citation
- 0402204
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,645 · Granted: 19% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 0402204.
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
Service connection for loss of left eye and acquired psychiatric condition including PTSD is granted.,The Veteran's claims were previously denied, but new evidence was submitted that supports the claims.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete records and conflicting medical opinions regarding whether VA treatment caused or contributed to the need for the left eye enucleation.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete records and the need for a new medical opinion regarding whether VA treatment caused or contributed to the Veteran's left eye enucleation.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding whether VA treatment caused or contributed to the need for left eye removal.
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