The Board has granted service connection for diabetic retinopathy of the left eye and remanded other issues including service connection for bilateral eye disorders, other than a pterygium, and an earlier effective date for nonservice-connected pension benefits.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's current mild nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy is proximately due to or the result of his service-connected diabetes mellitus.
- Claimed conditions
- diabetic retinopathy of the left eye, a corneal scar, keratoconjunctivitis sicca, atopic conjunctivitis, suspected glaucoma, incipient cataracts, cortical, senile cataracts, dry eyes, an irregular astigmatism, a visual field defect, ocular hypertension
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 10, 2021
- Citation
- 21028049
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 21028049.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has found that remand is needed for the Veteran's claims due to duty to assist errors, including clarification of periods of service and obtaining relevant records. The Veteran will be afforded new medical examinations for each claimed disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's dry eyes are related to service. The claim will be reviewed again with additional evidence.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a duty-to-assist error, specifically failing to obtain an opinion regarding whether the Veteran's current bilateral eye disability is related to service exposure to burn pits. The AOJ should obtain such an opinion.
- Granted
The Board has granted readjudication of the Veteran's claims for service connection due to new and relevant evidence submitted since the June 2024 decision. The issues remain remanded.
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