The Board has decided that the Veteran's blindness or legal blindness may be related to an in-service eye injury during combat on Iwo Jima, but needs further examination to determine this.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's account of exposure to a bright light from a 'star shell' during combat is credible even though not documented in his service treatment records.
- Claimed conditions
- blindness, legal blindness
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 10, 2019
- Citation
- 19136567
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,863 · Granted: 26% (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 19136567.
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 Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for specially adapted housing or special home adaptation, as they do not qualify for permanent and total disability due to loss of use of extremities or anatomical regions.
- Dismissed
The appeal is dismissed as moot because the Veteran's past due benefits were already awarded and no fees were withheld or paid, so there are no remaining disputes to be adjudicated.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's left eye disability, including incomplete service treatment records and an inadequate VA examiner's opinion. The AOJ is instructed to seek complete copies of the Veteran's service medical records and obtain a new examination with an adequate opinion addressing the likely cause of his eye disability.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for AVM, blindness (secondary to AVM), and tinnitus due to a lack of evidence showing these conditions occurred during active duty for training.
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