The Board has remanded the claims for cataracts, thyroid disability, and acquired psychiatric disability due to outstanding private treatment records and a need for dose assessment of radiation exposure. The Veteran's service personnel records indicate he participated in Operation Ivy, which may have exposed him to ionizing radiation.
The deciding factor: Radiation exposure during service is suspected based on the Veteran's participation in Operation Ivy but needs confirmation through a dose estimate.
- Claimed conditions
- Cataracts, Thyroid Disability (including hypothyroidism, parathyroid adenoma, and thyroid nodular disease), Acquired Psychiatric Disability (depression)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 9, 2023
- Citation
- 23001084
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 910 · Granted: 31% (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 23001084.
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 determined that additional medical opinions are needed to address the nature and etiology of the Veteran's primary open angle glaucoma with cataracts, as well as a determination of whether he has a current diagnosis of bilateral hearing loss for VA compensation purposes. The case is being remanded to allow for these determinations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding whether the Veteran's current eye disabilities are related to service or preexisted with no superimposed injury during service. The VA must obtain a supplemental opinion from an appropriately qualified examiner.
- Granted
The Veteran's cataracts are rated at a 10 percent rating, and he is granted a separate 20 percent rating for bilateral dry eye syndrome and meibomian gland dysfunction. The decision also notes that the Veteran has not had any incapacitating episodes in the past year.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the cases for further development, including obtaining SSA records beyond medical records and scheduling a VA examination to assess syncope associated with DM and hypertension.
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