The Veteran's claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 is remanded due to the inadequacy of the January 2015 VA examination, and a new examination is needed to determine if the Veteran has an additional disability that is directly related to his May 1970 VA treatment with hydrochloric acid.
The deciding factor: The Board found the January 2015 VA examination inadequate as it did not specifically identify if an additional disability exists as a result of the Veteran's 1970 surgical procedure, including blindness. The examiner also provided speculative opinions regarding negligence and foreseeability.
- Claimed conditions
- left eye blindness
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 15, 2019
- Citation
- A19000904
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 A19000904.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 because the evidence did not show that her left eye blindness was caused by VA care, and instead concluded it was due to her own non-compliance with medical instructions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 is remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding the surgeries performed in April 2010 and their impact on his left eye disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for Diabetes Mellitus (Type II) and left eye blindness due to potential direct service connection based on exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune. The Veteran's medical conditions are not entitled to presumptive service connection, but may be related to his service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case for a new medical opinion from an ophthalmologist regarding whether the Veteran's left eye blindness is due to VA care, treatment or surgery in October and/or November 2009.
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