The veteran's currently diagnosed bilateral eye disorder was not related to his in-service bilateral eye injury or otherwise to his period of active military service.
The deciding factor: The February 2007 eye examiner concluded that the veteran's bilateral eye disorder was not related to service, and there is no credible evidence supporting a connection between the current conditions and the in-service injury.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral dry eye syndrome, cataracts, blepharitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 15, 2009
- Citation
- 0901726
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for eye conditions, an acquired psychiatric disorder, and obstructive sleep apnea as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected diabetes mellitus type II with erectile dysfunction and left eye retinopathy. However, it denied increased ratings for multiple peripheral neuropathies, hypertension, and status post tympanoplasty.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for dermatochalasis, meibomian gland dysfunction, and blepharitis. The claims for lumbosacral strain, left lower extremity radiculopathy (sciatic nerve), right shoulder tendinopathy, diabetes, and prostate cancer with urinary incontinence status-post prostatectomy were remanded.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 20 percent initial rating for bilateral dry eye syndrome and service connection for left knee strain, but denied other claims including increased ratings for right lower extremity radiculopathy, bilateral hearing loss, incomplete right bundle branch block (claimed as cardiac arrhythmia), degenerative disc disease of the thoracolumbar spine with IVDS, scarring of the left inguinal area, status post varicocele surgery, and service connection for left shoulder strain and restless leg syndrome.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for all the conditions listed as there was no evidence of an in-service event, nor is there evidence demonstrating a nexus to service.
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