The Board found that new and material evidence had been submitted to reopen the claim for service connection for an eye disorder, and granted service connection based on a diagnosis of retinitis pigmentosa first manifested during active duty.
The deciding factor: The evidence showed that the veteran's retinitis pigmentosa was diagnosed in service and there was no clear and convincing evidence that it pre-existed his service. The Board found this to be a new and material factor, leading to the grant of service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- retinitis pigmentosa, myopic astigmatism
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 13, 2009
- Citation
- 0901314
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,162 · Granted: 21% (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 0901314.
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the motion to revise a 1968 rating decision denying service connection for retinitis pigmentosa due to the Veteran's death.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal of the January 2013 denial of service connection for myopic astigmatism with senile cataracts, bilateral eyes was dismissed due to non-compliance with claims processing rules.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to the need for additional development, including obtaining Social Security Administration records and providing an addendum opinion regarding the Veteran's service-connected diabetes mellitus type II and hypertension.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and retinitis pigmentosa, finding no evidence of a nexus to active service.
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