Citation Nr: 21008120 Decision Date: 02/11/21 Archive Date: 02/11/21 DOCKET NO. 17-14 012 DATE: February 11, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for glaucoma is granted. FINDING OF FACT Glaucoma was manifest in service. CONCLUSION OF LAW Glaucoma was incurred in wartime service. 38 U.S.C. § 1110; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. REASONS AND BASIS FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from April 1967 to April 1969, and from June 1976 to June 2002. He has numerous decorations to include, but not limited to, a Purple Heart, Pathfinder, Combat Infantryman Badge, and the Silver Star.   The Veteran appeared at a Board hearing in May 2020; a transcript is of record. During the Board hearing, the undersigned Veterans Law Judge clarified the issue on appeal, identified potential evidentiary defects, and clarified the type of evidence that would support the Veteran’s claim. The actions of the Veterans Law Judge supplement the Veterans Claims Assistance Act (VCAA) and comply with any related duties owed during a hearing. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.103. During a prehearing conference, the Veteran stated that he did not appeal the issue of entitlement to a disability rating more than 30 percent for status post gunshot wound with shrapnel injury, left arm and hand. The Veteran confirmed during the May 2020 hearing that he was not appealing this issue. The statements are consistent with the Form 9. The Veteran’s statements were informed and voluntary. 1. Entitlement to service connection for glaucoma is remanded. Veterans are entitled to compensation if they develop a disability “resulting from personal injury suffered or disease contracted in line of duty, or for aggravation of a preexisting injury suffered or disease contracted in line of duty.” 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110 (wartime service), 1131 (peacetime service). To establish entitlement to service-connected compensation benefits, a Veteran must show: “(1) the existence of a present disability; (2) in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a causal relationship between the present disability and the disease or injury incurred or aggravated during service -the so-called ‘nexus’ requirement.” See Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1167 (Fed. Cir. 2004). Service connection may be granted for any disease diagnosed after discharge, when all the evidence, including that pertinent to service establishes that the disability was incurred in service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(d). The determination as to whether these requirements are met is based on an analysis of all the evidence of record and the evaluation of its credibility and probative value. See Baldwin v. West, 13 Vet. App. 1, 8 (1999). The Board concludes that Veteran’s glaucoma is a chronic disease pursuant to 38 U.S.C. § 1101(3); 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(a). Based on medical evidence provided, if glaucoma was manifest during service or to a compensable degree within the applicable presumptive period, then service connection is warranted. The Veteran attests that his glaucoma is connected to service. The Veteran states that, since 2002, he has given the VA copies of his service treatment records at least four times. The Veteran indicates that these copies include information that is related to his glaucoma. In particular, the Veteran cites a February 23, 2017 medical opinion from Dr. Harvey Du…. Dr. Du… notes the development of glaucoma in the Veteran’s right eye, based on his review of the Veteran’s service treatment records. Dr. Du… specifically discusses 16 different documents within the service treatment records that demonstrate possible manifestation of glaucoma. He also discusses potential reasons why the Veteran’s examiners at the time may not have noticed glaucoma developing. Ultimately, Dr. Du… concludes that the Veteran’s glaucoma, during service, transitioned from suspect glaucoma to real glaucoma, and estimates that real glaucoma manifested somewhere in between 1993 and 1998. See Medical Treatment Records- Government Facility, received March 14, 2017, and Medical Treatment Record- Non-Government Facility, received March 14, 2017. The Board also notes another medical opinion from Dr. Du…, dated September 14, 2011, which recounts the Veteran’s medical history of his eyes. Dr. Du,,, speculates that the Veteran’s changes in his vision “were preexisting when the [Veteran] was in service.” See Medical Treatment Record - Non-Government Facility, received October 24, 2011. The Board also notes that there are frequent ophthalmology reports included in the Veteran’s service treatment records which include pictures of the Veteran’s eyes, which Dr. Du… has drawn to form his medical opinion.   The most probative evidence is the private opinion of Dr. Du…. The Board reiterates that glaucoma is a chronic disease. The Board finds that the glaucoma was present in service and that he has current disability. Nexus evidence is not needed. Service connection is warranted. H. N. SCHWARTZ Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Jonah Nelson, 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.