The Veteran's service connection claim for a bilateral eye disorder, including vision loss, is denied as refractive error of the eyes is not considered a disability for which service connection can be granted.
The deciding factor: Service connection cannot be established for refractive errors of the eyes as they are congenital or developmental defects and not diseases or injuries within the meaning of applicable legislation providing compensation benefits.
- Claimed conditions
- Refractive error
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 21, 2024
- Citation
- A24077254
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 A24077254.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's right eye disability, including a corneal abrasion from service and current conditions like refractive error, presbyopia, mild cataracts, and blepharitis, is being remanded for further evaluation. The TDIU claim is also remanded due to its interdependence with the service connection issue.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to inadequate medical opinions regarding the relationship between the Veteran's eye condition and his service-connected conditions, including vasovagal syndrome and atypical migraine headaches.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claim for service connection for refractive error as a bilateral eye condition due to insufficient medical opinions and failure to address the Veteran's lay contentions. The Veteran served in the Southwest Asia theater of operations, but his current vision problems are not considered related to active service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate opinions regarding the Veteran's bilateral eye disability, specifically his service connection claim. The examiner is asked to provide an opinion on whether each diagnosed eye disorder is related to the Veteran's service, including his May 1975 eye injury and subsequent treatment for continued symptoms.
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