The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral eye disorders due to a lack of an addendum opinion addressing whether his conditions are related to exposure to burn pits, sand storms, and burning oil wells during his service in Iraq.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not address the Veteran's contention that his bilateral eye disorder is related to exposure to burn pits, sand storms, and burning oil wells during his service in Iraq.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral presbyopia, Hypermetropia (farsightedness), Astigmatism, Right eye pinguecula, Left eye pterygium, Bilateral dry eye syndrome
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 23, 2022
- Citation
- 22054237
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 22054237.
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 bilateral dry eye syndrome is rated at a 20 percent rating under Diagnostic Code 6025, the maximum available for this condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The appeal for service connection for alopecia areata is dismissed. The Veteran's claims of service connection for bilateral hearing loss and bilateral dry eye syndrome with vision impairment scars are remanded due to a duty to assist error.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the grant of service connection for bilateral dry eye syndrome was improper due to clear and unmistakable error (CUE), and thus, the appeal is denied.
- 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.
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