The Veteran's eye disability is being remanded for a VA examination to determine if it pre-existed service, and whether any aggravation during service. The claim will be reconsidered after the examination.
The deciding factor: The examiner must review the claims file and provide an opinion on whether the Veteran's eye disability clearly and unmistakably pre-existed service, and whether there is clear and unmistakable evidence that it was not aggravated by service.
- Claimed conditions
- corneal ulcer, herpetic stromal keratitis
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 23, 2018
- Citation
- 1803878
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 1803878.
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.
- Dismissed
The claim for a compensable rating for dry eye syndrome was dismissed due to untimely filing of the Notice of Disagreement (NOD). The Board will remand the service connection claim for an eye disorder, including corneal ulcer, pterygium, pinguecula, retinal fibrosis, arcus senilis, anterior toxic cortical cataract, superficial punctate keratitis (SPK), and visual field constriction.
- Granted
The Veteran's eye condition, manifested by corneal scarring and dead spots of vision in the left eye, is rated as a 10 percent disability under DC 6011.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's petition to reopen his claim for service connection for residuals of a corneal ulcer of the left eye, finding that no new and material evidence had been submitted.
- Denied
The VA has denied a higher rating for the veteran's service-connected corneal opacity and ulcer in his left eye, currently rated at 20 percent.
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