The Board denied service connection for a disability manifested by bilateral defective visual acuity, including open angle glaucoma, non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy, cataracts and dry eyes, as the evidence did not support a link between these conditions and active service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found no medical evidence or published case histories of mild external particulate debris finding its way into the internal portion of the eye in an otherwise intact eyeball to cause cataracts or glaucoma some 30 plus years after the incident, and there was a multi-year gap between the reported in-service injury and the onset of disability.
- Claimed conditions
- open angle glaucoma, non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy, cataracts, dry eyes
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 4, 2018
- Citation
- 18107635
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 18107635.
What this means for you
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has found that remand is needed for the Veteran's claims due to duty to assist errors, including clarification of periods of service and obtaining relevant records. The Veteran will be afforded new medical examinations for each claimed disability.
- Denied
The Veteran's tinnitus and hearing loss claims are denied as there is no current diagnosis of these conditions.,The Veteran's high cholesterol, dementia, stroke, prostate cancer, cataracts, diabetes, hypertension, CHF, and myocardial infarction claims are denied due to lack of service connection evidence or insufficient evidence to establish a nexus between the disabilities and active duty service.,The Veteran was exposed to toxins during his military service but there is no evidence linking these exposures to any of the claimed conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's dry eyes are related to service. The claim will be reviewed again with additional evidence.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection of cataracts has been dismissed due to the appellant's death prior to a Board decision.
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