The Board denied the Veteran's claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for blindness due to optic neuritis of the right eye, finding that VA did not cause the disability and that there was no evidence of fault on VA's part.
The deciding factor: The medical opinion stated that the appropriate treatment was prescribed by VA staff, including a referral for the Veteran’s vision to an eye specialist. There is no evidence of delay in diagnosis or treatment, nor misdiagnosis as glaucoma at his first visit in March 2017.
- Claimed conditions
- Optic neuritis, Blindness
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 20, 2020
- Citation
- A20008981
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 A20008981.
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 remands the claims for further development and examination, as well as readjudication.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for an earlier effective date for service connection for multiple sclerosis and other conditions, as VA did not receive a claim within one year of separation from service or prior to February 6, 2023.
- Partly granted
The Board granted compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for the Veteran's blindness, finding that it was a reasonably foreseeable complication of his VA heart surgery. The claim for service connection for peripheral artery disease was remanded due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's request for an earlier effective date of August 28, 2018 for a 30 percent rating for optic neuritis with right eye intermediate uveitis. The decision found that there was no evidence of increased severity within one year prior to the claim.
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