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Whole decision: Denied

The veteran's claim for restoration of a 50 percent rating for visual field loss due to sickle cell retinopathy was denied.,The veteran's claim for an effective date prior to September 5, 1995, for the assignment of the 50 percent disability rating for visual field loss due to sickle cell retinopathy was denied.,The veteran's claim for an effective date prior to July 17, 1995, for the assignment of the 30 percent disability rating for sickle cell disease was granted.

The deciding factor: The RO found that the evidence did not meet the criteria for restoration of a 50 percent evaluation for visual field loss due to bilateral sickle cell retinopathy.,The RO found that the earliest date as of which it is factually ascertainable that an increase in the appellant's sickle cell disease occurred was July 17, 1995. Therefore, the effective date prior to September 5, 1995, for the assignment of the 50 percent disability rating for visual field loss due to sickle cell retinopathy was denied.,The RO found that the earliest date as of which it is factually ascertainable that an increase in the appellant's sickle cell disease occurred was July 17, 1995. Therefore, the effective date prior to July 17, 1995, for the assignment of the 30 percent disability rating for sickle cell disease was granted.

Claimed conditions
visual field loss due to bilateral sickle cell retinopathy, sickle cell disease
How they argued it
Direct service connection
Exposure basis
None
Rating
Not verified here — check the original decision
Decision date
March 13, 2006
Citation
0607226

Veterans Law Judge

DEREK R. BROWN

Decisions by this judge: 1,987 · Granted: 15% (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 0607226.

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.

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