The Board denied service connection for a visual disorder, finding that the Veteran's eye disorders are not related to his service-connected diabetes mellitus.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners found that the Veteran's bilateral eye disorders were due to aging and systemic steroid use, rather than his service-connected diabetes mellitus.
- Claimed conditions
- visual disorder, bilateral nuclear sclerotic cataract, right eye posterior subcapsular cataract
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 16, 2019
- Citation
- 19128904
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,828 · Granted: 32% (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 19128904.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied service connection for bilateral glaucoma and bilateral nuclear sclerotic cataracts, finding no evidence linking these conditions to service. The right eye posterior subcapsular cataract is remanded due to a potential error in the VA examiner's opinion.,Service connection for the Veteran's right eye posterior subcapsular cataract will be reconsidered on remand.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that further development is required for the Veteran's claims of breathing disorder, chronic fatigue syndrome, visual disorder, joint disorder, chemical hypersensitivity disorder, and digestive system disorder. Specifically, a toxic exposure risk activity (TERA) memorandum must be obtained, and new medical opinions are needed to address the etiology of these conditions.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including bilateral hearing loss, hypertension, heart disorders, erectile dysfunction, headaches, visual disorder, skin disorder, and respiratory disorder are all denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a finding of current disabilities or a causal relationship to service.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for cataracts and visual disorder, finding that there is no evidence to support a link between his current condition and military service.
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.