The veteran's claim for an increased evaluation for his service-connected left eye pterygium is being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining medical records and providing a VA ophthalmological examination.
The deciding factor: The case requires further investigation into the relationship between the veteran's current left eye disabilities and his service-connected pterygium, as well as verifying any reported left eye trauma during service.
- Claimed conditions
- pterygium at the nasal margin of the left eye, bilateral mild cataracts, bilateral primary open-angle glaucoma, left eye corneal scar, left eye dense superior visual field loss, left esophoria, left optic atrophy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 2, 2004
- Citation
- 0417863
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,776 · Granted: 24% (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 0417863.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has granted an earlier effective date of April 6, 2024 for the grant of service connection for left optic atrophy. The December 2, 2023 claim for rhinitis remains unadjudicated.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 10 percent disability rating for the service-connected left eye corneal scar and remanded the claim for service connection for sleep apnea.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and TDIU, as the evidence did not support a higher disability rating or unemployability due to service-connected conditions.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a left eye disability, including corneal scar, macular pucker, dry eye syndrome, and cataracts. The evidence does not support the claim that these conditions are related to the Veteran's active-duty service.
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