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.
The deciding factor: The medical opinions provided by the VA examiner concluded that the Veteran's current eye conditions were not related to his service, including any claimed exposures as a mechanic or head injury during service.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral lagophthalmos, Left eye trichiasis (entropion), Bilateral punctate keratitis, Left eye cataract, Right eye pseudophakia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 20, 2024
- Citation
- 24008370
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 24008370.
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.
- 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 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.
- Granted
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.
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