The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate examination and incomplete reasoning in the previous decision. The Veteran's eye disorders are being reviewed again for direct service connection, secondary service connection, and herbicide exposure.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not provide a rationale for his conclusions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's eye disabilities and their relationship to service-connected conditions or herbicide exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral dry eye syndrome, Choroidal nevus (retinopathy) of the left eye
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 8, 2020
- Citation
- 20065422
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for an increased rating for eye disability and service connection for hypotension to correct duty to assist errors.
- Partly granted
The Board denied increased ratings for several service-connected conditions and granted service connection for a few others, including tinea pedis, bilateral dry eye syndrome, right shoulder disability, cervical spine disability, left knee disability (secondary), right knee disability (secondary), and right ankle disability (secondary).
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions and denied earlier effective dates for the grant of service connection, except for a 10 percent rating for pseudofolliculitis barbae and a 20 percent rating for bilateral dry eye syndrome.
- Partly granted
The Board denied a compensable initial rating for bilateral hearing loss disability but granted an initial 20 percent rating for bilateral dry eye syndrome. Service connection was denied for obstructive sleep apnea, hypertension, and sinusitis.
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