The Veteran's bilateral eye disability and left eye cataract surgery-related conditions are remanded for further examination and opinion to determine the nature of his current eye disabilities, their etiology, and whether they are service-connected or due to VA treatment.
The deciding factor: Further examination is needed to determine the nature and likely etiology of all diagnosed eye disabilities and their relationship to service or VA treatment.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral eye disability, Left eye cataract surgery-related floaters, Left eye cataract surgery-related decreased visual acuity, Left eye cataract surgery-related flashes, Left eye posterior vitreous detachment
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 17, 2019
- Citation
- 19172111
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 19172111.
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 has determined that the Veteran's current bilateral eye disability and bilateral hearing loss are related to his military service, granting service connection for both conditions.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for peripheral neuropathy of the upper and lower extremities, hypertension, gastrointestinal disability, bilateral eye disability, and psychiatric disorder due to presumed exposure to herbicide agents in Korea. The Veteran's claims were remanded for consideration of obstructive sleep apnea.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral eye disability, finding no evidence that the condition was incurred in or caused by service and noting that it is not related to the Veteran's service-connected PTSD.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for a bilateral eye disability, a bilateral foot disability, and a skin disability of the feet, to include the left first toenail, due to duty-to-assist errors.
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