The Board has decided that the Veteran's bilateral eye conditions are not service-connected, and has remanded the claim for chronic fatigue syndrome due to concerns about a pre-decisional error in the December 2020 rating decision.
The deciding factor: The August 2024 VA examiner found no evidence of chronic fatigue syndrome meeting diagnostic criteria and noted that the Veteran's symptoms are more likely related to depression, chronic sinusitis, IBS, and cervical spine conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral dry eye, bilateral peripheral retinal degeneration
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 13, 2026
- Citation
- A26002854
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 A26002854.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for service connection and increased ratings have been denied. Effective dates prior to July 27, 2023, are not warranted as the issues were not reasonably raised before that date.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for several conditions, granted an initial rating of 10 percent for chronic constipation, and granted higher ratings of 30 percent for bilateral peripheral vestibular disorder and 20 percent for bilateral dry eye.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for heart palpitations, bruxism, and bilateral dry eye, while denying service connection for the other conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for OSA, GERD, bilateral pseudophakia, bilateral dry eye, and BPH to obtain additional evidence regarding toxic exposure.
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