The Board has determined that the Veteran's left eye refractive error, incipient pterygium, left eye disorder (including blepharitis, dry eye, and incipient nuclear sclerosis), and stomach condition (small sized hiatal hernia with gastroesophageal reflux) are related to his active service.
The deciding factor: The Board found the evidence in relative equipoise, supporting service connection for these conditions as they were present during service and linked to active duty service.
- Claimed conditions
- left eye refractive error, incipient pterygium, left eye blepharitis, dry eye, incipient nuclear sclerosis, stomach condition (small sized hiatal hernia with gastroesophageal reflux)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 10, 2019
- Citation
- 19192469
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,948 · Granted: 29% (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 19192469.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the Veteran's appeal for service connection for various conditions including hypoglycemia, sinusitis, left foot pes planus, right foot pes planus, right foot plantar fasciitis, left ankle pain, left hip osteoarthritis, left knee sprain, bradycardia, dry eye, hernia, hypercholesterolemia, and bilateral hearing loss.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for an initial compensable disability rating for the service-connected eye condition other than hypertensive retinopathy, to include dry eye and cataracts is being remanded due to a failure to obtain VA examinations referenced in a November 2024 opinion.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for eye disabilities, to include retinopathy, bilateral nuclear cataracts, bilateral dermatochalasis, dry eye, and pinguecula, as the prior VA medical opinion regarding aggravation was found to be conclusory and lacked necessary medical reasoning.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for a left eye condition, including primary open angle glaucoma and optic nerve atrophy, to obtain private medical records from Dr. Laquis.
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