The Board has determined that there was not substantial compliance with the November 2017 remand directives and thus the case is being REMANDED for further development, including obtaining updated VA medical records and new VA opinions regarding the Veteran's eye disabilities.
The deciding factor: The Board found inadequate compliance with previous remands and therefore requires additional evaluations to address specific issues related to service connection for various eye conditions secondary to arterial hypertension.
- Claimed conditions
- Refractive error of the left eye, Bilateral diabetic related cataracts, Proliferative diabetic retinopathy of the left eye, Severe diabetic retinopathy of the right eye
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 18, 2020
- Citation
- 20074059
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,199 · Granted: 25% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 20074059.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for refractive error of the left eye, finding that it is not a disease or injury within the meaning of VA regulations.
- Denied
The Veteran's appeal for increased ratings and service connection for his eye disabilities has been denied. The Board found that the evidence did not meet the criteria for higher ratings under any applicable diagnostic codes.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.