The Veteran's eye conditions, including dry eye syndrome, corneal foreign body of the right eye, and incipient cataracts, are not related to service. However, he has a current right eye corneal scar that is considered a residual from an in-service injury.
The deciding factor: Service records show a right eye corneal abrasion but no evidence linking current conditions to service or the Veteran's reported in-service injuries.
- Claimed conditions
- dry eye syndrome, corneal foreign body of the right eye, incipient cataracts, right eye corneal scar
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 25, 2018
- Citation
- 1805217
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 1805217.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for left eye conjunctival squamous cell carcinoma and remanded the issue of service connection for an eye disability other than left eye conjunctival squamous cell carcinoma, to include dry eye syndrome and pinguecula.
- Partly granted
The Board dismissed the appeal for service connection for a mental health condition and denied service connection for an eye condition. The claims for autoimmune limbic encephalitis with non-paraneoplastic limbic encephalitis (NPLE) with GAD65 antibodies and dystonia and dystonic tremor were remanded.
- Dismissed
The Veteran has withdrawn the appeal for service connection and higher ratings, requesting to submit supplemental claims instead.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for sinusitis, dry eye syndrome, a rating in excess of 10 percent for allergic rhinitis, a compensable rating for headaches, and a rating in excess of 50 percent for PTSD.
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