The Board has remanded the case due to the need for a comprehensive eye examination and medical opinions regarding the Veteran's service-connected eye disabilities, including bilateral cataracts, diabetic retinopathy, and any cotton wool spots.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's visual impairment is complex and requires further evaluation to determine the cause of his symptoms and whether they are related to his service-connected conditions or other factors such as ptosis.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral cataracts, Diabetic retinopathy, Bilateral eye disorder manifested by cotton wool spots
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 22, 2021
- Citation
- 21009534
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 21009534.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including his bilateral lower extremity neuropathy due to diabetes mellitus, have resulted in loss of use of both lower extremities. The Board has granted eligibility for specially adapted housing and dismissed the claim for a special home adaptation grant as moot.
- 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.
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