Citation Nr: 21069704 Decision Date: 11/19/21 Archive Date: 11/19/21 DOCKET NO. 18-45 555 DATE: November 19, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for glaucoma (claimed as eye condition) is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from June 1979 to June 1983. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal of an August 2017 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In June 2021, the Veteran testified during a video conference hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge. A transcript of the hearing is associated with the claims file. Service connection for glaucoma is remanded Regarding the Veteran's claim for entitlement to service connection for glaucoma, remand is required to provide the Veteran with a VA examination. VA has a duty to assist claimants to obtain evidence needed to substantiate a claim. See 38 U.S.C. § 5103A; 38 C.F.R. § 3.159. VA's duty to assist includes providing a medical examination when it is necessary to make a decision on a claim. 38 U.S.C. § 5103 (d); 38 C.F.R. § 3.159. Such development is necessary if the information and evidence of record does not contain sufficient competent medical evidence to decide the claim, but (1) contains competent evidence of diagnosed disability or symptoms of disability, (2) establishes that the veteran suffered an event, injury or disease in service, or has a presumptive disease during the pertinent presumptive period, and (3) indicates that the claimed disability may be associated with the in-service event, injury, or disease, or with another service-connected disability. 38 C.F.R. § 3.159 (c)(4); McLendon v. Nicholson, 20 Vet. App. 79, 83-86 (2006) (noting that the third prong may be satisfied by lay evidence of continuity or equivocal or non-specific medical evidence). The Veteran has not yet been provided with an examination. Here, a Disability Benefit Questionnaire submitted in June 2017 contains an assessment of bilateral glaucoma. Additionally, the Veteran's service treatment records reflect the Veteran was treated for a head injury in December 1979. He suffered a laceration to his left eyebrow and his left eye was not following the light. The Veteran's service treatment records also show emergency care and follow-up care for a laceration to his forehead from a motor vehicle accident in July 1982. Further, the Veteran was prescribed antimalarial medication in service. The Veteran has submitted articles showing traumatic glaucoma can be caused by trauma to the eye, with glaucoma occurring immediately after the injury or years later. Another article concluded there is an increased risk of eye disorders in people who have used antimalarials. Thus, there is evidence of a current disability, in-service events, and an indication that the disability may be associated with service. Accordingly, remand is required for an examination The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Schedule the Veteran for a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of his glaucoma. 2. Provide an opinion as to whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent probability or greater) that the glaucoma had its onset during the Veteran's service or is otherwise etiologically related to the Veteran's service, to include his two head traumas in service and his use of antimalarial medication in service. The examiner is asked to address the Veteran's in-service events, as well as the two medical articles, one discussing the connection between trauma and glaucoma and the other discussing the relationship between eye disorders and the use of antimalarials. R. FEINBERG Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board A. St. Laurent, Associate 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.