The Board denied service connection for eye disorders and refractive error, finding no evidence of a direct link to the Veteran's active military service.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's eye problems were attributed to known clinical diagnoses that are not etiologically related to her active military service. Refractive errors such as presbyopia are developmental disorders precluded by regulation from being considered disabilities for VA purposes.
- Claimed conditions
- eye disorder (scleritis, conjunctivitis, cataracts), refractive error (presbyopia)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 2, 2009
- Citation
- 0907543
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.
- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for multiple conditions and denied higher initial ratings for several service-connected disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for keratitis and conjunctivitis due to insufficient efforts made to schedule a VA examination.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a rating of 20 percent for dry eye syndrome, conjunctivitis, and pingueculae but remanded the claim for service connection for a lung condition due to potential exposure to burn pits.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for coccidioidomycosis and conjunctivitis as the evidence did not show that these conditions began during or were otherwise caused by active service.
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