The Board has determined that the Veteran needs further examination to determine if his current left eye and ear conditions are related to VA cataract surgery, including a posterior capsule tear. The examiner must provide opinions on whether these conditions were caused by VA treatment, as well as whether they had their onset during service or are otherwise related.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran needs further examination to determine the etiology of his current left eye and ear conditions due to a cataract surgery performed while in service.
- Claimed conditions
- Left Eye Posterior Capsule Tear, Retinal Detachment, Epiretinal Membrane
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 17, 2019
- Citation
- 19178822
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,217 · Granted: 46% (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 19178822.
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 Veteran's loss of use of the left eye, resulting in blindness with only light perception, is due to his service-connected bilateral glaucoma. The Board has granted entitlement to special monthly compensation (SMC) based on aid and attendance for this condition.
- Denied
The Veteran's right eye disability, characterized by visual acuity no worse than 20/200 and visual field deficits no worse than 20/70, is currently rated at 30 percent. The Board denied an increased rating as the evidence did not support a higher evaluation based on the current manifestations of his condition.
- Denied
The Board found that the reduction of the Veteran's disability rating from 20 percent to 10 percent was proper, as evidenced by sustained improvement in his visual acuity and field defects. The effective date is not specified.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal for an increased disability rating for PTSD with TBI and AUD prior to June 16, 2021 is denied. The case is remanded for additional development regarding the service connection claim for epiretinal membrane.
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