Citation Nr: 20060486 Decision Date: 09/15/20 Archive Date: 09/15/20 DOCKET NO. 18-31 238 DATE: September 15, 2020 ORDER Service connection for bilateral visual field loss, secondary to service-connected glaucoma, is granted. FINDING OF FACT The evidence is at least in equipoise that the Veteran’s bilateral visual field loss is secondary to service-connected glaucoma. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for bilateral visual field loss, secondary to service-connected glaucoma, are met. 38 U.S.C. § 5107; 38 C.F.R. § 3.310. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Navy from August 1979 to August 1987 and May 1999 to November 1999, with additional reserve service. This claim was last remanded in May 2019 for further development. Service Connection To prevail on a direct service connection claim, there must be competent evidence of (1) a current disability, (2) in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury, and (3) a nexus between the in-service disease or injury and the current disability. Holton v. Shinseki, 557 F.3d 1362, 1366 (Fed. Cir. 2009); 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a). A disability may also be service connected on a secondary basis if it is proximately due to or the result of a service-connected disease or injury; or, if it is aggravated beyond its natural progress by a service-connected disease or injury. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.310(a), (b). 1. Entitlement to service connection for bilateral visual field loss The Veteran is currently service-connected for glaucoma. However, he contends that a separate award is warranted for a distinct eye disorder, to include bilateral visual field loss on a secondary basis. Determining whether service connection should be granted in this case is made more difficult by the fact that, because the Veteran is already service-connected for glaucoma, he may already be compensated for his visual field loss without a separate grant of service connection. Glaucoma is rated pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 4.79, Diagnostic Code 6013. That code provides that glaucoma is to be rated pursuant to the General Formula for Diseases of the Eye, with a minimum evaluation of 10 percent if continuous medication is required. The General Formula instructs that eye disabilities are to be rated “on the basis of either visual impairment due to the particular condition or on incapacitating episodes.” Id. Visual impairment includes ratings for visual field defects at Diagnostic Codes 6080-81. Thus, if it is found that the Veteran has a visual field defect due to his glaucoma, separate service connection may not necessarily be needed for the Veteran to be rated for this particular manifestation. At this point, it is clear that the Veteran has a visual field loss due to his glaucoma. Following an August 2019 VA eye examination, the examiner stated that the Veteran had severe glaucoma that constricted his visual field to less than 20 degrees in each eye. The examiner indicated that this visual field loss meets the definition of legal blindness. To date, the RO has resisted rating the Veteran for his visual field loss, finding instead that it was not incurred in or otherwise related to his active service. But again, considering that the Veteran is already service-connected for glaucoma, the question should also be whether his service-connected glaucoma results in a visual field loss, which the evidence clearly indicates that it does. In an effort to ensure that the Veteran is compensated for the symptoms of his disability, the Board finds it most prudent to grant service connection for a visual field defect. Whether this represents a separate disability apart from glaucoma (that is nevertheless related to that disability) is of less importance to the Board than ensuring that the Veteran is compensated for all manifestations of his service-connected disability. Thus, granting service connection for this visual field loss will make it clear that this manifestation is to be compensated, whether as a component of the Veteran’s glaucoma or on its own. Evan M. Deichert Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board J. Henriquez, Counsel The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.