The Board has restored the Veteran's reduced ratings for his functional visual field defect and left upper eyelid scar, as there was no improvement in their ability to function under ordinary conditions of life and work.
The deciding factor: The reduction in ratings did not demonstrate material improvement in the physical or mental condition that would support a rating reduction over five years.
- Claimed conditions
- functional visual field defect, left upper eyelid scar
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- October 8, 2024
- Citation
- A24064154
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,113 · Granted: 47% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 A24064154.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remanded all issues for further development of evidence. The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection are being sent back to the Regional Office for additional medical opinions.
- Granted
The Veteran's tinnitus and right ear hearing loss are granted service connection. The Veteran's left upper eyelid scar is granted a separate 10 percent rating, but the higher rating for the same condition remains denied.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an effective date prior to January 5, 2019 for a total disability due to individual unemployability (TDIU) rating. The decision found that entitlement to TDIU did not arise until January 5, 2019 when the combined disability rating of 70 percent was achieved.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection are not properly adjudicated due to pre-decisional errors in obtaining relevant medical records and developing secondary service connection issues. The case is being remanded to correct these errors.
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