The Veteran's claim for service connection for an eye disorder, including residuals of a retina tear, loss of vision, and in-service eye infections is being remanded due to the need for additional examination and development.
The deciding factor: Additional medical evidence is needed to determine the etiology of the Veteran's current eye disorders and whether they are related to her service.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral refractive error/myopia, bilateral astigmatism, right eye retinal tear status-post laser, left eye retinal hole, eye infections/conjunctivitis, right eye scotoma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 1, 2012
- Citation
- 1237409
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 1237409.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence and a need for an addendum opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's eye disabilities, including bilateral cataracts, hypertensive retinopathy, hypermetropia, astigmatism, presbyopia, unspecified peripheral retinal degeneration, dry eye syndrome, presence of intraocular lens, old branch retinal vein occlusion, and bilateral pinguecula.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral astigmatism and hypermetropia as these conditions are due to refractive errors, which are not considered diseases or injuries under VA compensation law.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands all service connection claims for further development, including making efforts to obtain VA treatment records from the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston, Texas.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a lack of substantive development regarding whether the Veteran's astigmatism was worsened by an in-service concussion.
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