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Granted

The Board has determined that the Veteran's cataracts are proximately due to or aggravated by his service-connected diabetes mellitus, and thus grants service connection for cataracts as secondary to diabetes mellitus.

The deciding factor: The medical evidence is in equipoise regarding whether the Veteran's cataracts were accelerated by his diabetes mellitus, which was already service-connected. The opinion of Dr. R.C., who treated the Veteran, supports this determination.

Claimed conditions
cataracts
How they argued it
Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
Exposure basis
None
Rating assigned
20%
Decision date
January 27, 2011
Citation
1103503

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 1103503.

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.

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