Citation Nr: 21027061
Decision Date: 05/04/21	Archive Date: 05/04/21

DOCKET NO. 12-03 781
DATE: May 4, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to service connection for a bilateral eye disability is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from November 1970 to April 1974.

This case was remanded by the Board in June 2017 and January 2018.  The April 2017 Board remand provided a lengthy procedural history. That history is incorporated herein by reference.

In January 2019, the Board denied entitlement to service connection for a bilateral eye disability. The Veteran appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court), and in a December 2020 order, the Court granted the parties' Joint Motion for Remand (Joint Motion), vacated the Board's January 2019 decision, and remanded the matter back to the Board for development consistent with the Joint Motion.

1. Entitlement to service connection for a bilateral eye disability is remanded.

Pursuant to the December 2020 Joint Motion, the Board finds that a new, medical opinion should be obtained regarding the etiology of any eye disability present during the appeal period. The March 2019 examiner opined that the Veteran's cataracts were more likely than not age appropriate and related to age rather than to an event or injury in the service. The examiner, however, did not identify the Veteran's age when his cataracts onset. The examiner also did not discuss the Veteran's in-service complaints of "sore eyes" and a ruptured blood vessel in his left eye. See Service Treatment Records; see also VA examination 1976.  The Board finds that a new medical opinion should be obtained that discusses the Veteran's in-service eye complaints and gives a detailed rationale for all opinions provided.  

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

1. Undertake appropriate efforts to obtain a VA medical opinion from an appropriate clinician regarding any eye disabilities present since July 1975. An examination of the Veteran is not necessary, unless otherwise determined by the examiner.

The Veteran's claims file must be made available to and reviewed by the examiner prior to completion of the medical opinion. Review of such should be noted in the examiner's report. 

The examiner is requested to provide an opinion as to the following: 

(a). Whether it is at least as likely as not (that is, a probability of at least 50 percent) that any eye disability of the Veteran since the filing of his claim in July 1975, even if now resolved, was caused or aggravated by an injury or disease incurred during service.

The examiner is asked to discuss the Veteran's complaints of "sore eyes" in July 1973 and assessment of a "ruptured blood vessel in his left eye" at that time. If a condition is attributed to the Veteran's age or aging, the examiner is asked to discuss the approximate age the Veteran was at the time the condition had onset.  

A complete rationale should be provided for any opinions rendered. If an opinion cannot be provided without resort to pure speculation, the VA examiner should explain why speculation would be required in this case (e.g., if the requested determination is beyond the scope of current medical knowledge, actual causation cannot be selected from multiple potential causes, etc.). 

 

K. Parakkal

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	P.M. Johnson, 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.