The Board has remanded the case due to an inadequate VA opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's right eye condition, specifically his cataracts. The Veteran contends that his current right eye disability is related to a 1966 assault and trauma.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not consider the Veteran’s lay statements about his VA physician's opinion on the relationship between the 1966 incident and his current condition.
- Claimed conditions
- right eye condition (claimed as right eye injury), cataracts of the right eye
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 25, 2021
- Citation
- 21010735
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 21010735.
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 various conditions, including left and right eye dry eyes, cataracts of the left and right eyes, neuropathy of the left lower extremity, radiculopathy of the right lower extremity, left renal arteriovenous malformation, aneurysm, pseudofolliculitis barbae (PFB), degenerative joint disease (DJD) of the lumbar spine, recurrent subluxation of the left knee prior to May 13, 2020, left total knee replacement, disability rating in excess of 60 percent from September 1, 2021, forward for left total knee replacement, DJD of the right knee, right knee instability, burns of the bilateral ankles, linear scar of the left knee, post-surgical tender scars of the left knee, and a total disability rating due to unemployability (TDIU) based upon service-connected disabilities prior to June 14, 2019.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided that the Veteran's right eye condition, claimed as a right eye injury, is related to his active military service. However, the VA examination opinion provided was deemed inadequate and needs to be revised.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for diabetic retinopathy of the bilateral eyes, finding that it is secondary to the Veteran's service-connected diabetes mellitus. The issues regarding mild visual field contraction and cataracts have been remanded.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including prostate cancer and syncopal episodes, all of which were deemed not related to his active duty service or exposure to ionizing radiation.
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