The Board has denied service connection for refractive errors of the eyes and bilateral cataracts, finding no evidence linking these conditions to active duty. The case is remanded for further examination regarding bilateral pedal edema and right hip trochanteric bursitis.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner's opinions were based on incomplete records and did not adequately address the Veteran's lay statements of continuity of symptoms since service.
- Claimed conditions
- Refractive error of the right eye, Refractive error of the left eye, Bilateral cataracts, Bilateral pedal edema, Right hip trochanteric bursitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 19, 2020
- Citation
- 20074321
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,287 · Granted: 23% (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 20074321.
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 has determined that the Veteran's bilateral eye disability, including cataracts and a choroidal nevus affecting the left eye, is not attributable to active military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors, including inadequate VA examinations and ineffective assignment of an effective date. A new VA examination is required to assess the current severity of his service-connected bilateral dry eye syndrome and cataracts, with a focus on whether a separate compensable rating for dry eye syndrome is warranted.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral cataracts and status-post eye surgery, finding that the conditions are not related to service or in-service exposures.
- Granted
The Veteran's right hip trochanteric bursitis resulted in functional equivalent of favorable ankylosis, warranting a 60% rating. The Board also granted entitlement to TDIU based on his service-connected disabilities.
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