The Veteran's left eye cataract surgery resulted in permanent blindness, but the Board finds no fault on VA's part and denies compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151.
The deciding factor: VA physicians warned of potential complications due to the Veteran's history of herpes zoster infection, which contributed to the loss of vision after the surgery.
- Claimed conditions
- Left Eye Cataract, Posterior Chamber Intraocular Lens Implant
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 26, 2010
- Citation
- 1003849
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 1003849.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has granted an initial disability rating of 60 percent for the Veteran's left eye CRVO, effective from the date of the July 2024 decision on appeal.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded several issues related to service connection for various knee and ankle disabilities, as well as left eye cataracts and diabetic retinopathy. The Veteran's claims are being returned for further development due to the need to obtain additional medical opinions.
- Denied
The Veteran's service connection claim for a left eye cataract, secondary to his service-connected diabetes mellitus, is granted. However, the claim for chronic fatigue syndrome and bradycardia (secondary to hepatitis C and diabetes mellitus) is denied.,Service connection for a left eye disability other than a cataract is remanded.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for service connection for hearing loss, increased rating for right knee arthritis, and compensable disability rating for left eye cataract were all denied. The decision did not address the service connection claim as it was decided on the merits.
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