The Board granted compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for the Veteran's blindness, finding that it was a reasonably foreseeable complication of his VA heart surgery. The claim for service connection for peripheral artery disease was remanded due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
The deciding factor: The evidence regarding foreseeability is in approximate balance, and resolving doubt in the Veteran's favor, the Board found that the Veteran's blindness was not reasonably foreseeable.
- Claimed conditions
- Blindness, Peripheral artery disease
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 31, 2025
- Citation
- A25029455
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The appeal for service connection for PTSD was dismissed, and the claims for a compensable rating for the lower back scar, service connection for COPD, and peripheral artery disease were denied.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hip pain, GERD, supraventricular tachycardia/atrial fibrillation, and peripheral artery disease as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected mechanical low back pain with degenerative disc disease and spinal stenosis.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's service connection for peripheral artery disease was granted, and a 10 percent disability rating from January 1, 2014, to August 29, 2016, for bladder cancer residuals based on urinary obstruction was also granted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for sarcoidosis as new and relevant evidence has been received since the previous denial.
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