The Board denied service connection for left eye refractive error as it is not a disease or injury subject to VA disability compensation and the evidence shows it is not a service-connected disability.
The deciding factor: The condition of left eye refractive error is considered a developmental abnormality that was corrected by Lasik surgery, thus no superimposed disease or injury occurred during military service.
- Claimed conditions
- left eye refractive error
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 5, 2023
- Citation
- 23026435
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 23026435.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for right and left eye refractive errors. It granted an earlier effective date of September 21, 2017, for a 10 percent increased disability rating for the left wrist but denied further increases. The Board also granted a 70 percent increased disability rating for PTSD from January 22, 2017, to January 22, 2018, but denied further increases. Additionally, it granted a 20 percent disability rating for left lower extremity radiculopathy from July 23, 2024.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the Veteran's claims for service connection for left eye refractive error and right eye refractive error. The Board granted service connection for memory loss, which is caused by service-connected obstructive sleep apnea.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's left eye refractive error, incipient pterygium, left eye disorder (including blepharitis, dry eye, and incipient nuclear sclerosis), and stomach condition (small sized hiatal hernia with gastroesophageal reflux) are related to his active service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the issues of entitlement to service connection for left eye refractive error, vitreous syneresis, and ocular hypertension due to a lack of clarity in the VA examiner's opinions regarding whether these conditions were aggravated by the Veteran's service-connected cataracts. The case is being returned for further development.
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