The Veteran's left eye disability is considered a congenital defect and not service-connected. The Board finds the evidence does not support a finding of an in-service injury or disease resulting in current residuals from his claimed right-sided facial burns, low back disability, or right ear hearing loss.
The deciding factor: There is no credible evidence showing that the Veteran sustained any injuries to his left eye during service, and there are no records indicating he has had a left eye disability since discharge. The Veteran's right ear hearing loss does not meet VA's threshold for a disability under 38 C.F.R. § 3.385. For the low back disability, the evidence is insufficient to establish an in-service injury or disease resulting in current residuals.
- Claimed conditions
- Left Eye Disability (Refractive Error), Right Ear Hearing Loss, Low Back Disability, Residuals of Right-Sided Facial Burns
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 23, 2014
- Citation
- 1402745
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 1402745.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his low back, left knee, and right knee disabilities due to inadequate VA examinations. The AOJ is instructed to obtain private treatment records from Mays & Schnapp Pain Management and schedule the Veteran for additional medical examinations.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's low back disability, including diagnosed degenerative arthritis with DDD other than intervertebral disc syndrome and spinal stenosis status post L3, L4, and L5 laminectomy. The decision is based on the Veteran's in-service injury and his ongoing symptoms since then.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for right ear hearing loss and a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss, finding that there was no evidence to support these claims based on in-service noise exposure or other theories.
- Granted
The Veteran's right shoulder disability, low back condition, bilateral knee disabilities, and left shoulder strain have been granted service connection. The Veteran's low back condition has been increased to a 40 percent evaluation, while the bilateral knee conditions remain at their current 10 percent evaluations.
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