The Veteran's left eye cataract surgery complications are being remanded for further development due to potential negligence on the part of VA. The claim is not related to a specific exposure basis and no new rating has been assigned.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner opined that there was no evidence of negligence in the Veteran’s care, but the Veteran's private nurse practitioner provided an opinion suggesting negligence occurred due to the surgeon sticking himself with a needle during the cataract surgery. The Board is remanding for further development and consideration of this new information.
- Claimed conditions
- left eye cataract surgery complications, pseudophakic
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- January 30, 2020
- Citation
- 20007903
Veterans Law Judge
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 20007903.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
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 an incomplete record, specifically a missing consent document for the Veteran's eye surgery. The claim will be returned to the AOJ to correct this error.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided that the case should be returned to the RO for further examination and opinion regarding service connection for eye disability, including whether visual/depth perception issues in service were due to contrast sensitivity or aggravated by exposure to Camp Lejeune.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
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