The Veteran's bilateral eye disability, including open angle glaucoma and old partial retinal detachment, was not incurred during service or related to an in-service injury, event, or disease. The claim for service connection is denied.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not support a finding that the Veteran's current bilateral eye disability began during active service or is otherwise related to an in-service injury, event, or disease.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral eye disability, open angle glaucoma, old partial retinal detachment
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 18, 2023
- Citation
- 23051297
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 23051297.
What this means for you
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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 claims for increased ratings and SMC have been remanded due to regulatory changes affecting the rating of eyes on May 13, 2018. The AOJ is instructed to consider both old and new criteria for rating eye disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a duty-to-assist error, specifically failing to obtain an opinion regarding whether the Veteran's current bilateral eye disability is related to service exposure to burn pits. The AOJ should obtain such an opinion.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is denied. The Board has also remanded the issue of service connection for a bilateral eye disability due to an inadequate medical opinion.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected open angle glaucoma is granted. The claim for an increased rating for COPD remains denied, as the severity of his condition does not warrant a higher than 30 percent rating. The Veteran's hypertension is now rated at 10 percent, but no higher.
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