The Veteran's right retinal detachment is not considered to be caused by VA medical care, and the Board finds that there was no fault on the part of VA in providing the treatment. The event causing the disability (retinal detachment) was reasonably foreseeable.
The deciding factor: The cataract surgery complicated by vitreous loss increased the risk of retinal tear or detachment, which is a known potential complication of cataract surgery and not unforeseeable.
- Claimed conditions
- Right retinal detachment
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 22, 2024
- Citation
- A24049171
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 A24049171.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 due to a right retinal detachment, finding that there was no evidence linking the surgery or treatment to the detached retina.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's right retinal detachment is being remanded for further development to determine if the VA surgery and post-operative care caused his condition, and whether Dr. A.A.'s surgeries at Barnes-Jewish Hospital were performed as a VA employee.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
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