Citation Nr: 21010735 Decision Date: 02/25/21 Archive Date: 02/25/21 DOCKET NO. 19-21 816 DATE: February 25, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for a right eye condition (claimed as right eye injury) is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served honorably on active duty from December 1965 to December 1967. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a May 2018 rating decision of a Regional Office (RO) of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Entitlement to service connection for a right eye condition (claimed as right eye injury) is remanded. The Veteran contends that his current right eye condition, claimed as right eye injury, is related to an assault that took place while he was serving on active duty in 1966, which also injured his left eye. See e.g., May 19, 2020 appellate brief; June 19, 2018 notice of disagreement (NOD). The Veteran was afforded a VA examination for the right eye in May 2018. The May 2018 VA examiner opined that the Veteran’s current right eye condition, to include nuclear sclerotic cataracts, “appeared to be age related.” The VA examiner further stated that “[a]lthough trauma may cause a cataract related to an injury, such as the assault from 1966, it is not likely that the cataracts are related to the incident as they occurred many years later.” The Veteran submitted a statement along with his NOD in June 2018. The Veteran asserted that “[m]y detached lens was discovered during a cataract examination. My VA physician said that my detached lens was trauma related. The only trauma I’ve experienced was the assault in 1966.” The Board finds that the May 2018 VA opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran’s current right eye condition is inadequate. Specifically, the May 2018 VA examiner was not able to consider the Veteran’s lay statements that his VA physician, an eye doctor, indicated that the Veteran’s current right eye disability was related to trauma as evidenced by his detached lens. Further, an incomplete rationale was provided by the May 2018 VA examiner for his opinion, simply stating that the onset of the Veteran’s right eye cataracts occurred many years after the 1966 assault. The Board finds this rationale inadequate. Accordingly, a remand is required for an addendum medical opinion. This matter is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain an addendum medical opinion from an appropriate VA clinician. The claims file, including a copy of this remand, must be made available to the examiner. The examiner is asked to provide opinions as to the following: (a.) Regarding the Veteran's cataracts of the right eye , state whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent or better probability) that the cataracts are the result of the Veteran's active military service, to include trauma associated with the assault on the Veteran (that caused injury to his head and face) that occurred in 1966. (b.) The examiner must address the Veteran’s argument that his VA physician (named Dr. Kim) indicated that his right eye disability seemed to be the result of trauma, and that the only documented trauma is the in-service incident. See VBMS, documented labeled NOD, receipt date 06/19/2018. The examiner is asked to provide the underlying reasons for all opinions expressed, and is reminded that the term "as likely as not" does not mean "within the realm of medical possibility," but rather that the evidence of record is so evenly divided that, in the examiner's expert opinion, it is as medically sound to find in favor of the proposition as against it. Bethany L. Buck Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board R. M. Lowman, 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.