The Veteran's claim for defective vision has been reopened, and service connection is granted.,Service connection is granted for a depressive disorder secondary to diabetes mellitus, and nephropathy proximately due to diabetes mellitus. Service connection for a dental disability for compensation purposes is denied.,Issues related to sleep apnea, bilateral eye disabilities, and TDIU are remanded.
The deciding factor: New evidence indicates the Veteran has a current vision disability that may be secondary to his service-connected diabetes mellitus.,Medical evidence supports the link between the Veteran's service-connected diabetes mellitus and his acquired psychiatric disorder (depressive disorder) and nephropathy.,The issues related to sleep apnea, bilateral eye disabilities, and TDIU require additional development of records.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired psychiatric disorder (depressive disorder), Defective vision, Nephropathy
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 22, 2019
- Citation
- 19112918
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,249 · Granted: 37% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 19112918.
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.
- Partly granted
The veteran was granted a 70 percent rating for an acquired psychiatric disorder, effective January 20, 2018, and the claim for a rating in excess of 50 percent for bilateral plantar fasciitis was denied.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for diabetes mellitus, type II, hypertension, and prostate cancer as due to exposure to herbicides. It also granted service connection for erectile dysfunction, nephropathy, bilateral lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, bilateral upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, and diabetic retinopathy as secondary to the already service-connected conditions of diabetes mellitus or prostate cancer.
- Granted
The appeal for evaluation of IVDS and degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine was dismissed, while TDIU was granted due to the combined effects of service-connected disabilities.
- Partly granted
The Board denied the claims for increased ratings for bilateral hearing loss and peripheral neuropathy of both lower extremities prior to certain dates, but granted a 30 percent rating for nephropathy from November 14, 2021.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.