The Board remands the claim for service connection of a bilateral eye condition other than dry eye syndrome to ensure compliance with previous directives, including obtaining an addendum opinion that addresses the likely etiology of the claimed conditions.
The deciding factor: The Board cannot rely on the current medical opinions as they contain contradictions and do not fully address the required standards for evaluating congenital or developmental defects.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral cataracts, macular degeneration, epiretinal membranes, posterior vitreous detachment, dermatochalasis, blepharitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 10, 2025
- Citation
- 25007723
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for eye conditions, an acquired psychiatric disorder, and obstructive sleep apnea as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected diabetes mellitus type II with erectile dysfunction and left eye retinopathy. However, it denied increased ratings for multiple peripheral neuropathies, hypertension, and status post tympanoplasty.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for dermatochalasis, meibomian gland dysfunction, and blepharitis. The claims for lumbosacral strain, left lower extremity radiculopathy (sciatic nerve), right shoulder tendinopathy, diabetes, and prostate cancer with urinary incontinence status-post prostatectomy were remanded.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for glaucoma and macular degeneration, finding that the evidence did not support a causal relationship between these conditions and the Veteran's military service.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, bilateral cataracts, dry eye syndrome, allergic conjunctivitis, valvular heart disease, cardiomyopathy, and atrial fibrillation as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were incurred in or caused by an in-service event.
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