The Board has determined that new and material evidence was not received to reopen the Veteran's claim for service connection for left eye optic atrophy. The original denial of this claim in April 2011 found that the condition existed prior to service and worsened due to a fall, thus precluding service connection.
The deciding factor: The new evidence did not show that the Veteran's left eye condition permanently increased beyond its natural progression during his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- left eye optic atrophy
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 16, 2015
- Citation
- 1510935
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 1510935.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for a left eye disability, including optic atrophy, intraocular lens, and torsional nystagmus, finding that the additional disability was not caused by carelessness, negligence, lack of proper skill, or similar incidence of fault on the part of VA personnel.
- Granted
The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and back disabilities were granted service connection. The right eye hyperopia/presbyopia was not found to be a disability for VA compensation purposes, while the left eye optic atrophy is unrelated to his active duty service.
- Denied
The Board found that the veteran's service-connected left eye pterygium does not warrant a compensable evaluation as it only manifests dry eye with no evidence of loss of vision.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to the need for additional development, including obtaining SSA records and providing proper notice regarding secondary service connection.
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