The Veteran's claim for service connection is being remanded due to the need to obtain private treatment records and provide a medical opinion regarding the etiology of his eye conditions.
The deciding factor: VA cannot meet the second prong required to rebut the presumption of soundness because VA cannot show in this case that the Veteran's defective vision did not increase in severity during service. The Veteran needs a new medical opinion to determine if any worsening of vision was due to superimposed injury or disease.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral blindness, right eye epiretinal membrane
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- February 14, 2017
- Citation
- 1704403
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 1704403.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeal, and the Board has dismissed it.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for a disability rating in excess of 50 percent for his service-connected eye disabilities and entitlement to TDIU prior to November 5, 2012 due to inadequate opinions regarding the severity of his conditions over time.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for service connection for prostate cancer, bilateral blindness, left leg amputation, and right leg amputation were dismissed as untimely. The issues are moot due to a full grant of benefits in another appeal stream.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral blindness, resolving all reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor.
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