The Board has decided to remand the case due to a lack of consideration of relevant private treatment records and an inadequate opinion from the VA examiner. The Veteran's loss of vision in the left eye is being reviewed again for possible service connection under the merits.
The deciding factor: The decision was based on an incomplete review of the medical records, including missing surgical records from Dr. C.
- Claimed conditions
- loss of vision of the left eye
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 19, 2020
- Citation
- A20015682
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,456 · Granted: 23% (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 A20015682.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 20 percent rating for the left eye disability effective December 6, 2021, and denied a higher rating prior to that date. The sternotomy scar was also denied a compensable rating.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded four issues related to service connection for various disabilities, including a lumbar spine disability, sciatica of the right lower extremity, left foot disability, and loss of vision of the left eye. The AOJ is instructed to obtain relevant medical records and schedule the Veteran for VA examinations to determine the nature and etiology of these conditions.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's current left eye disabilities, including a cataract and macular degeneration, are not related to his service or refractive error at the time of discharge. As such, the claim for service connection is denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has reopened the claims of service connection for loss of vision of the left eye and bilateral hearing loss disability, but further development is needed to determine if these conditions are related to service.
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