The veteran's hypertensive retinopathy is currently rated at 10 percent, and the evidence does not support a higher rating as his visual acuity loss is attributed to macular degeneration rather than his service-connected condition.
The deciding factor: Visual acuity loss in both eyes is primarily due to macular degeneration, not hypertensive retinopathy.
- Claimed conditions
- Hypertensive Retinopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- September 11, 2006
- Citation
- 0628308
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,458 · 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 0628308.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's appeal is denied as he does not meet the criteria for a TDIU from March 25, 2013 to July 3, 2013 due to his service-connected disabilities. The appeal also failed to establish entitlement to SMC prior to February 11, 2021.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and effective dates are being remanded due to the need for additional examinations to determine current disability levels.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for retinopathy as secondary to hypertension has been granted.,However, the Veteran's claims for service connection for glaucoma and osteopenia as secondary to hypertension have been denied.
- Granted
The Veteran's bilateral glaucoma and hypertensive retinopathy have been rated at 20 percent since March 9, 2019. The rating is granted as the condition has resulted in visual acuity of 20/40 or better bilaterally.
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