The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for blindness in his left eye, finding no evidence that it was incurred or aggravated by service and not related to any service-connected disability.
The deciding factor: VA medical records showed that the veteran had pre-existing conditions such as nuclear sclerotic cataract, primary open angle glaucoma, and age-related macular degeneration in his left eye. The examiner opined that even if the right eye injury caused retinal detachment worsened his left eye condition, it was not related to the detached retina.
- Claimed conditions
- Left Eye Blindness, Nuclear Sclerotic Cataract (Senile), Primary Open Angle Glaucoma, Age-Related Macular Degeneration
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 6, 2004
- Citation
- 0421665
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 0421665.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
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 determined that additional medical opinions are needed to address the nature and etiology of the Veteran's primary open angle glaucoma with cataracts, as well as a determination of whether he has a current diagnosis of bilateral hearing loss for VA compensation purposes. The case is being remanded to allow for these determinations.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and primary open angle glaucoma as the probative evidence did not show that these conditions were incurred in or due to active service.
- Granted
The Veteran's primary open angle glaucoma and left chest lipoma are now granted as service-connected.,Entitlement to a 50 percent rating for migraine headaches is also granted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the July 2010 rating decision is not final and therefore, the Veteran's claim to reverse or revise the decision on CUE grounds is dismissed. The issues of whether the reduction was proper and for an effective date prior to January 28, 2013 are remanded.
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