The Board has determined that the Veteran experienced additional disability in the form of worsened visual acuity and glare issues following his left eye cataract surgery on April 18, 2016. The evidence supports a determination that this additional disability was caused by unforeseen inflammation during the aborted surgery, which is not reasonably foreseeable. Therefore, the Veteran's claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 is granted.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the evidence is at least in equipoise as to whether the Veteran experienced additional disability following the April 2016 left eye surgery and that this additional disability was caused by unforeseen inflammation during the aborted surgery, which is not reasonably foreseeable.
- Claimed conditions
- Left eye cataract, Fixed pupil
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 13, 2023
- Citation
- 23022199
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 23022199.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's left eye disability is remanded due to the inadequacy of the August 2021 VA examination, which did not consider his prior medical history and service treatment records.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for right knee arthritis, left eye cataract, and headaches due to insufficient medical opinions addressing potential service connection.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral lagophthalmos, left eye trichiasis (entropion), bilateral punctate keratitis, and cataracts in his eyes. The Board found that there was no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
- Granted
The Board granted a 40 percent rating for bilateral retinopathy, status post cataract surgery, as of September 15, 2015. The Veteran's eye disability was rated based on visual impairment due to the conditions and not incapacitating episodes.
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