The Veteran's right eye disabilities are being remanded for additional development, including obtaining a medical opinion regarding the relationship between his current eye conditions and presumed herbicide exposure. His hypertension is also being remanded for an examination to determine its etiology.
The deciding factor: Additional evidence is needed to establish whether the Veteran’s current right eye disabilities are related to in-service herbicide exposure or service-connected diabetes mellitus, type II, as well as to determine if his hypertension is related to service or service-connected diabetes mellitus, type II.
- Claimed conditions
- Right eye optic neuropathy, Cataracts (bilaterally), Glaucomatous optic atrophy of the right eye, Macular edema of the right eye
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 9, 2018
- Citation
- 18140981
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 18140981.
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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his lung cancer was related to his service-connected melanoma.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, left knee disability, and right knee disability. The claims for urinary frequency disability and residuals of a cholecystectomy were denied.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 20 percent disability rating for left and right lower extremity radiculopathy from April 3, 2023 onward, but denied higher ratings prior to that date. Service connection was also granted for alcohol use disorder as secondary to PTSD with traumatic brain injury.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for right lower extremity sciatica associated with the Veteran's service-connected lumbosacral spine strain, but remanded claims for service connection for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and sleep apnea.
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