The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient rationale in the July 2020 VA opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's eye disability, excluding diabetic retinopathy and diabetic cataracts. The Veteran is seeking service connection for an eye disability other than his already established diabetes mellitus with diabetic retinopathy.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the July 2020 VA opinion did not adequately address whether the Veteran's diagnosed bilateral macular degeneration was proximately due to or aggravated by a service-connected condition, specifically diabetes mellitus type II and its residuals (diabetic retinopathy or diabetic cataracts).
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral macular degeneration
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 5, 2020
- Citation
- 20071573
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 Veteran is granted special monthly compensation (SMC) for his service-connected bilateral focal chorioretinitis, bilateral optic neuritis, peripheral retinal degeneration, bilateral macular degeneration, and bilateral optic neuropathy, as well as PTSD with unspecified neurocognitive disorder and TBI.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for eye disability, including bilateral exotropia, macular degeneration, cataracts, dry eye syndrome, and pinguecula, as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were caused by or related to the Veteran's military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claim for service connection for a bilateral eye disability, specifically macular degeneration. The decision is due to incomplete compliance with previous remand directives regarding obtaining morning reports and sick reports from his active duty service.
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