The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a bilateral eye disability, finding that new and material evidence had not been received to reopen the claim. The evidence did not show any current disability related to service.
The deciding factor: The post-service treatment records provided no evidence linking the Veteran’s current bilateral eye disability to his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral eye disability, loss of vision, legal blindness
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 14, 2020
- Citation
- 20003123
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,319 · Granted: 25% (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 20003123.
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 remanded the case due to a duty-to-assist error, specifically failing to obtain an opinion regarding whether the Veteran's current bilateral eye disability is related to service exposure to burn pits. The AOJ should obtain such an opinion.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is denied. The Board has also remanded the issue of service connection for a bilateral eye disability due to an inadequate medical opinion.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for PTSD, insomnia, bilateral hearing loss, and back, right knee, and sinusitis conditions. Service connection was denied for bronchitis, hernia, loss of vision, and chest acne.
- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, headaches, hypertension, neck disability, right hand arthritis of fingers, left hand arthritis of fingers, right knee arthritis, left knee arthritis, right ankle arthritis, left ankle arthritis, and left foot arthritis of toes. The Board also remanded the issues regarding service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and bilateral pes planus with plantar fasciitis.,The Board has denied service connection for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and incontinence. The Board has also denied service connection for a bilateral eye disability.
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