The Board has remanded the claim for service connection for disorders of the bilateral eyes, including as a result of herbicide agent exposure. The Veteran was previously afforded a VA examination but no opinion was provided regarding the etiology of his eye conditions. The AOJ is requested to obtain an addendum opinion from an appropriate examiner to determine if the Veteran's eye disability is at least as likely as not related to his active military service or otherwise attributable to his presumed herbicide agent exposure.
The deciding factor: The Board has remanded the claim due to the lack of a nexus opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's bilateral eye disorders, specifically whether they are related to his active military service or herbicide agent exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- cataracts, dry eye syndrome, macular drusen
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 28, 2020
- Citation
- 20081009
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 Board granted service connection for left eye conjunctival squamous cell carcinoma and remanded the issue of service connection for an eye disability other than left eye conjunctival squamous cell carcinoma, to include dry eye syndrome and pinguecula.
- Partly granted
The Board dismissed the appeal for service connection for a mental health condition and denied service connection for an eye condition. The claims for autoimmune limbic encephalitis with non-paraneoplastic limbic encephalitis (NPLE) with GAD65 antibodies and dystonia and dystonic tremor were remanded.
- Dismissed
The Veteran has withdrawn the appeal for service connection and higher ratings, requesting to submit supplemental claims instead.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, bilateral cataracts, dry eye syndrome, allergic conjunctivitis, valvular heart disease, cardiomyopathy, and atrial fibrillation as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were incurred in or caused by an in-service event.
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