The Board has determined that the Veteran's left eye cataract and drooping eyelid are not related to his service, including a shrapnel wound near his left eye in 1968. Therefore, service connection for these conditions is denied.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence does not support a nexus between the Veteran's current left eye disability (cataract and drooping eyelid) and his service, particularly given the long period of time since service without any documented complaints or treatment related to these issues.
- Claimed conditions
- Left eye cataract, Drooping eyelid
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- May 12, 2009
- Citation
- 0917715
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 0917715.
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.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's left eye disability is remanded due to the inadequacy of the August 2021 VA examination, which did not consider his prior medical history and service treatment records.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for right knee arthritis, left eye cataract, and headaches due to insufficient medical opinions addressing potential service connection.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral lagophthalmos, left eye trichiasis (entropion), bilateral punctate keratitis, and cataracts in his eyes. The Board found that there was no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran experienced additional disability in the form of worsened visual acuity and glare issues following his left eye cataract surgery on April 18, 2016. The evidence supports a determination that this additional disability was caused by unforeseen inflammation during the aborted surgery, which is not reasonably foreseeable. Therefore, the Veteran's claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 is granted.
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