The Board has decided to remand the case due to a failure to provide proper notice of the Veteran's right to a hearing before the AOJ prior to the April 2021 rating decision on appeal.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran was not given proper notice of his right to a pre-decisional RO hearing as required by VA regulations.
- Claimed conditions
- right eye cataract
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 7, 2026
- Citation
- A26001329
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 A26001329.
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 Veteran's claims for increased ratings and SMC have been remanded due to regulatory changes affecting the rating of eyes on May 13, 2018. The AOJ is instructed to consider both old and new criteria for rating eye disabilities.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection claim for tinnitus is granted. Claims for right eye cataract, foot pain, lung cancer, hypertension, heart disability, PVD and bilateral iliac artery stents, interstitial lung disease, COPD, and benign prostate condition are denied due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to his presumed exposure at Camp Lejeune.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for left and right eye conditions due to a lack of substantial compliance with a previous remand.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for hypertension, a heart disability, and a right eye disability other than cataract but granted service connection for a right eye cataract due to the Veteran's exposure to non-ionizing radiation in service.
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