The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertensive retinopathy as it is not secondary to a currently service-connected condition.
The deciding factor: There was no evidence of a current disability of hypertension, which is required to establish entitlement to service connection on a secondary basis.
- Claimed conditions
- hypertensive retinopathy
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 3, 2025
- Citation
- A25049029
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 denied service connection for an eye condition, carpal tunnel syndrome, and diabetes mellitus with erectile dysfunction. However, it granted a 70% rating for PTSD and separate 10% ratings for diabetic neuropathy of the right and left lower extremities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board is remanding the claim for service connection for hypertensive retinopathy to ensure compliance with a Joint Motion for Remand, which requires providing notice of the right to a pre-decisional hearing.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a vision disability, to include diabetic retinopathy, cataracts, open angle glaucoma, blepharitis, left eye optic neuritis, and hypertensive retinopathy, as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected diabetes mellitus.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for an initial rating of service-connected bilateral cataracts and diabetic retinopathy to correct pre-decisional duty-to-assist errors.
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