The Board vacates its previous decision denying a higher rating for bilateral postoperative cataracts and diabetic retinopathy prior to May 5, 2016, due to procedural errors in the handling of the appeal after the Veteran's death.
The deciding factor: Due process was denied because correspondence recognizing the Appellant as a proper substitute was not mailed to her, and an SSOC was issued to the deceased Veteran instead.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral postoperative cataracts, diabetic retinopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 12, 2025
- Citation
- 25003483
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,084 · Granted: 20% (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 25003483.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for asthma, hypertension with residuals including stroke, DM II, bilateral amputation of all toes, and diabetic neuropathy to obtain VA medical opinions regarding the nature and etiology of these conditions.,The Board also remanded the claim for ED as it is inextricably intertwined with the DM II claim.
- Denied
The Veteran's initial ratings for diabetes and diabetic retinopathy were denied. The Board found that the current ratings adequately reflect the severity of his symptoms, including his need for eye injections to treat his diabetic retinopathy.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for Type II diabetes mellitus and diabetic retinopathy, finding that these conditions are related to the Veteran's service-connected PTSD.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the appeals regarding various service connection claims and rating determinations due to the Veteran's withdrawal of his appeal.
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