The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate medical opinions regarding whether the Veteran's current eye disabilities are related to service, including environmental exposures during service in Vietnam and Southwest Asia.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not address whether the Veteran’s in-service exposures caused or aggravated his claimed eye disorders.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic narrow angle glaucoma, senile cataracts, pinguecula, dry eye
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 4, 2020
- Citation
- 20071176
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 20071176.
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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for left eye conjunctival squamous cell carcinoma and remanded the issue of service connection for an eye disability other than left eye conjunctival squamous cell carcinoma, to include dry eye syndrome and pinguecula.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial compensable evaluation for pinguecula as there was no evidence of scar or disfigurement with one characteristic of disfigurement.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for conjunctivitis, dry eye syndrome, and pinguecula based on a finding that the conditions are related to active service.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a right eye disorder, including senile cataracts and small recurrent nasal pterygium, as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were incurred in or related to military service.
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