The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for left eye disability and TDIU due to service-connected disabilities, including residuals of stroke, diabetes mellitus, and diabetic retinopathy. The appellant's spouse died within one week of a scheduled VA examination, which is considered good cause.
The deciding factor: The death of the appellant’s spouse within one week of the scheduled VA examination for left eye disability constitutes good cause to remand the case for an appropriate examination or etiological opinion.
- Claimed conditions
- left eye disability, glaucoma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 17, 2020
- Citation
- 20047966
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 20047966.
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.
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The Board has decided to remand the case due to duty-to-assist errors, including failing to obtain SSA records and VA medical opinions regarding whether the Veteran's left eye disability is secondary to his service-connected hypertension.
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The Board has remanded the claims for service connection and TDIU due to incomplete records, including SSA disability benefits records. The Veteran's right knee tendinopathy, tendinitis is not rated higher than 10 percent.
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