The Veteran's blindness in the right eye and multiple retinal detachments following cataract surgery by VA were not reasonably foreseeable outcomes, warranting compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran's complications following right eye cataract surgery were uncommon and occurred less than 1 percent of the time, making them not reasonably foreseeable.
- Claimed conditions
- blindness in the right eye, multiple retinal detachments
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 25, 2010
- Citation
- 1007078
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 1007078.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matters of entitlement to a rating in excess of 30 percent for the service-connected glaucoma of the right eye and entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities (TDIU) for additional evidentiary development.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for a blind right eye disability, finding that the additional disability was not due to carelessness, negligence, lack of proper skill, error in judgment, or similar instance of fault on the part of VA, nor was it an event not reasonably foreseeable.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim to reopen his service connection for blindness in the right eye and blurred vision, finding that new evidence did not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a bilateral eye disability, finding that the current disabilities are not related to the Veteran's military service.
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