The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for loss of visual acuity as there is no evidence of a current eye disability other than hyperopia with astigmatism, which is considered a congenital defect and cannot be service connected. The Veteran does not contend that his congenital defect was subjected to a superimposed disease or injury during military service.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran's active duty service treatment records consistently noted reduced visual acuity without glasses but did not note any eye injuries in service, and post-service VA treatment records showed diagnoses of hyperopia with significant astigmatism resulting in difficult night vision. The congenital defect (hyperopia with astigmatism) was considered a constitutional or developmental abnormality for which compensation benefits may not be authorized.
- Claimed conditions
- loss of visual acuity, hyperopia with astigmatism
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 24, 2020
- Citation
- 20075029
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for loss of visual acuity, finding that the evidence does not support a link between the condition and his military service.
- Denied
The Veteran's appeal was denied because he did not file a timely Substantive Appeal following the issuance of the SOC on November 14, 2018.
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