The Board found that the Veteran does not have a current eye disability related to military service or to his service-connected diabetes mellitus. The Veteran's color blindness is considered a congenital defect and precluded by law from being service connected.
The deciding factor: There was no evidence of an etiological relationship between the Veteran’s current eye disabilities and his active duty service, including his service-connected diabetes mellitus.
- Claimed conditions
- Eye Disability, Glaucoma, Ocular Hypertension, Color Blindness
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- March 7, 2016
- Citation
- 1609043
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 1609043.
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.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's service-connected glaucoma has rendered him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment on an extra-schedular basis, effective September 1, 2020.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted service connection for Multiple Sclerosis, a headache disability as secondary to service-connected MS, and an eye disability as secondary to service-connected MS. The Veteran's current diagnoses of these conditions are supported by medical evidence, and the Board finds that they are related to her service-connected MS.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claim of entitlement to compensation benefits under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for glaucoma due to inadequate development and reasoning in the previous decision.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's claim for a 100 percent rating for glaucoma prior to January 27, 2023 was denied as there is no medical evidence showing he had visual acuity of less than 5/200 or a reduced visual field to 5 degrees in both eyes prior to that date.
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