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Whole decision: Denied

The Board finds that the Veteran's loss of use of his right eye and choroidal malignant melanoma were not caused or aggravated by VA's carelessness, negligence, lack of proper skill, error in judgment, or similar instance of fault on the part of VA.

The deciding factor: VA treatment records show that the Veteran had a hemorrhagic detachment of the choroid and adjacent retinal detachment due to blunt trauma. Despite multiple treatments including an MRI, the melanoma was not diagnosed until February 2013 when referred by VA to a private eye institute. The Board concludes that the melanoma's progression was not caused or aggravated by VA treatment.

Claimed conditions
Choroidal Malignant Melanoma of the Right Eye, Loss of Use of Right Eye
How they argued it
Direct service connection
Exposure basis
None
Rating
Not verified here — check the original decision
Decision date
December 10, 2015
Citation
1551822

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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 1551822.

What this means for you

A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.

What you can do next

Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).

Related decisions

Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.

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