The Board has remanded the case for a new medical opinion to determine if the Veteran's current right eye disability is related to service, including any in-service trauma. The examiner should clarify whether the diagnosed conditions are developmental defects or not and provide an opinion on their etiology.
The deciding factor: The examiner's opinion was inadequate due to inconsistencies between the pre-induction examination report and the December 1969 optometry report regarding the Veteran's right eye vision, which may affect the determination of whether in-service aggravation occurred.
- Claimed conditions
- right eye esotropia, right eye amblyopia, bilateral nuclear cataracts
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 1, 2016
- Citation
- 1645176
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 1645176.
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 remands the claim for service connection for eye disabilities, to include retinopathy, bilateral nuclear cataracts, bilateral dermatochalasis, dry eye, and pinguecula, as the prior VA medical opinion regarding aggravation was found to be conclusory and lacked necessary medical reasoning.
- Partly granted
The veteran's claim for a higher rating for diabetes mellitus type II was denied due to failure to attend a VA examination. The claims for service connection for a cardiovascular disability and TDIU were remanded for further development.
- Denied
The Veteran's initial claim for increased ratings for right eye amblyopia was denied. The Board found that the evidence did not meet the criteria for a higher rating prior to February 16, 2016 and from February 16, 2016 to February 26, 2019, but denied a higher rating since February 26, 2019.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a duty-to-assist error and needs additional medical opinions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's bilateral nuclear cataracts and chorioretinal scars.
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