The Board remands the matter of entitlement to service connection for bilateral cataracts, to include as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected diabetes mellitus type 2 (diabetes), due to inadequate medical nexus opinions.
The deciding factor: The opinions provided by the VA examiners were found inadequate and did not address direct service connection or consider all relevant evidence of record.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral cataracts
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 29, 2024
- Citation
- 24033609
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.
- Denied
The Board denied a rating greater than 20 percent for diabetes mellitus, type II, with bilateral cataracts and total disability based upon individual unemployability (TDIU) as the evidence did not support an increase in the Veteran's ratings or entitlement to TDIU.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for various conditions, including diabetes mellitus type 2 and peripheral neuropathy, to further investigate potential exposure to herbicides during the Veteran's service in Korea.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for bilateral cataracts and noncompensable ratings for bilateral hearing loss and maxillary and frontal sinusitis, while granting a 30 percent rating for hiatal hernia.
- Denied
The Board denied a separate compensable disability rating for cataracts associated with diabetes mellitus and service connection for blepharitis, finding no evidence linking these conditions to the Veteran's military service or any service-connected disabilities.
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