The Board has granted service connection for diabetic retinopathy as secondary to service-connected diabetes mellitus, but denied service connection for left eye HSV keratitis.
The deciding factor: The evidence is in equipoise regarding whether the veteran's left eye HSV keratitis was caused by his service-connected diabetes mellitus. However, it is established that the diabetic retinopathy is proximately due to or the result of his service-connected diabetes mellitus.
- Claimed conditions
- left eye HSV keratitis, diabetic retinopathy
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 0%
- Decision date
- April 7, 2004
- Citation
- 0409025
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 407 · Granted: 23% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0409025.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for asthma, hypertension with residuals including stroke, DM II, bilateral amputation of all toes, and diabetic neuropathy to obtain VA medical opinions regarding the nature and etiology of these conditions.,The Board also remanded the claim for ED as it is inextricably intertwined with the DM II claim.
- Denied
The Veteran's initial ratings for diabetes and diabetic retinopathy were denied. The Board found that the current ratings adequately reflect the severity of his symptoms, including his need for eye injections to treat his diabetic retinopathy.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for Type II diabetes mellitus and diabetic retinopathy, finding that these conditions are related to the Veteran's service-connected PTSD.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the appeals regarding various service connection claims and rating determinations due to the Veteran's withdrawal of his appeal.
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