The Board denied service connection for a left eye disability, including corneal scar, macular pucker, dry eye syndrome, and cataracts. The evidence does not support the claim that these conditions are related to the Veteran's active-duty service.
The deciding factor: There is clear and unmistakable evidence that the Veteran's left eye corneal scar preexisted his active-duty service but was not aggravated during his active service. Additionally, there is no credible evidence linking macular pucker, dry eye syndrome, or cataracts to his active-duty service.
- Claimed conditions
- left eye corneal scar, macular pucker (left eye), dry eye syndrome (left eye), cataracts (left eye)
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 8, 2025
- Citation
- A25032179
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 90 percent rating for bilateral diabetic retinopathy with macular edema (both eyes), cataracts (left eye) and presence of intraocular lens (right eye) prior to December 18, 2023, but denied an increased rating from that date.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a left eye disability, to include refractive amblyopia from congenital astigmatism, left eye nuclear cataracts, and left eye corneal scar, for further development of evidence regarding the nature and etiology of the Veteran's left eye corneal scar.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a medical opinion addressing whether the Veteran's left eye condition is related to service, as it found that the condition did not preexist service.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for prostate cancer, related to in-service exposures at Camp Lejeune.
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