The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for blindness right eye, with low vision left eye, old retinal detachment right eye, and maculopathy right eye as secondary to his service-connected diabetes mellitus type II. The March 2020 VA examiner found that the Veteran’s multiple severe eye conditions were not caused or aggravated by his service-connected diabetes.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran's blindness is due to old retinal detachment, which occurred in April 2011 and has remained stable since then. The examiner noted no diabetic retinopathy or diabetic ocular complications in the medical records.
- Claimed conditions
- blindness right eye, low vision left eye, old retinal detachment right eye, maculopathy right eye
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- November 18, 2020
- Citation
- 20074051
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,217 · Granted: 46% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 20074051.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied service connection for a right knee disability and remanded the cases for further examinations. The Veteran's claims for increased ratings are also being remanded.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's right shoulder disability and migraines/chronic headaches are remanded for additional development due to insufficient opinions on the etiology of her conditions.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's lumbar spine arthritis is aggravated by his service-connected bilateral knee disabilities, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's PTSD is granted as service connected due to his fear of hostile military activity during his Vietnam service.
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