The Board denied service connection for glaucoma and a rating in excess of 20 percent for back strain. The Veteran's left and right lower extremity radiculopathy were granted a 20% rating from May 18, 2015 to June 2, 2021.,The Board also remanded the claim for an increased hearing loss rating.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not establish that glaucoma was incurred in or aggravated by service. The Veteran's back strain disability did not meet the criteria for a higher rating under the General Rating Formula for Diseases and Injuries of the Spine.
- Claimed conditions
- Glaucoma, Back strain with Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 5, 2022
- Citation
- 22000619
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,188 · Granted: 23% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 22000619.
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 Veteran's service-connected glaucoma has rendered him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment on an extra-schedular basis, effective September 1, 2020.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claim of entitlement to compensation benefits under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for glaucoma due to inadequate development and reasoning in the previous decision.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for a 100 percent rating for glaucoma prior to January 27, 2023 was denied as there is no medical evidence showing he had visual acuity of less than 5/200 or a reduced visual field to 5 degrees in both eyes prior to that date.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for PTSD, sleep disturbances, anxiety, hypothyroidism, glaucoma, and hypertension. The Veteran's claims were not supported by the evidence of record.
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