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Welcome to The Veterans Disability Nexus, where we provide unique insights and expertise on medical evidence related to VA-rated disabilities. Leah Bucholz, a US Army Veteran, Physician Assistant, & former Compensation & Pension Examiner shares her knowledge related to Independent Medical Opinions often referred to as “Nexus Letters” in support of your pursuit of VA Disability every Tuesday & Wednesday at 7AM Central.
Take control of your medical evidence related to your benefits and visit https://podcast.prestigeveteranmctx.info/veteran/ for more information and to connect directly with us!
Hey guys, it's Leah B from Prestige Veteran Medical Consulting. I'm a US Army veteran, physician assistant and former compensation and pension examiner. So welcome back to our channel. Today, we're diving into an important topic that affects many veterans and that is cataracts and VA disability. We're gonna cover what cataracts are, how they're evaluated by VA and what veterans need to know about service connection and compensation.
Leah Bucholz:So let's just get started. So what are cataracts? So cataracts occur when the lens of the eye becomes cloudy leading to vision impairment. They can cause blurry vision, trouble with night vision, sensitivity to light and frequent changes in eyeglass prescriptions. Although cataracts are often age related, they can also result from trauma, medication use, things like radiation exposure or other medical conditions, like diabetes, that's a big one.
Leah Bucholz:So cataracts in the military population. Military service can increase the risk of cataracts through unique exposures, for example, blast injuries, exposure to UV radiation, the use of steroids for other service connected conditions can all contribute. A 2013 study published in Military Medicine found that ocular trauma was significantly more common in combat zones, often leading to long term complications, including cataracts. So another study from the Journal of Cataracts and Refractive Surgery highlighted increased rates of early cataract formation in individuals exposed to high dose radiation, such as during certain military operations. So primary versus secondary service connection.
Leah Bucholz:We talk about this quite a bit. So usually when we talk about primary service connection or direct service connection, we're talking about a person who was diagnosed with a disorder while on active duty or as a result of something that specifically happened on active duty. And secondary service connection, we're generally talking about a disability that was caused or worsened or aggravated by another service connected disability. So cataracts can be service connected by one of those two, either of those. So let's talk about how cataracts can become service connected on a primary basis.
Leah Bucholz:So again, this applies when the cataracts were caused directly by that service event. So examples could include an eye injury that happened while on active duty from shrapnel or blunt force trauma, exposure to radiation or chemicals like jet fuel, certain industrial solvents. Secondary service connection on the other hand applies when those cataracts develop as a result of another service connected condition. So a common example would be cataracts caused by long term corticosteroid use to treat service connected asthma or autoimmune diseases. Diabetes, which may already be service connected is another risk factor that can lead to cataracts over time.
Leah Bucholz:So make sure your medical records and documentation clearly explain how your cataracts are connected to your service, whether directly or secondarily, if your doctor is willing to sort of make some notes about that. So how does VA rate cataracts? So this is not really my area of expertise, but I know it's important to you guys so I like to go over that. So cataracts are rated under 38 CFR 4.79 using diagnostic code 6027. There are two types of cataracts VA usually considers.
Leah Bucholz:So preoperative cataracts. So if you have not had surgery yet, the VA is gonna rate the condition based on visual impairments. So postoperative cataracts, if you've had cataract surgery and now have an intraocular lens, the VA typically assigns a minimum 30% rating for each affected eye, assuming that there's some level of visual impairment remaining. However, if your vision remains largely intact post surgery, your rating could be 0%. So the key factor is how much the condition affects your visual acuity or your field of vision.
Leah Bucholz:So for significant complications like secondary glaucoma, retinal damage, those can be rated separately or lead to a higher overall evaluation. So some considerations veterans have when filing their claim are if they're not comfortable doing it on their own, they can work with a VSO, accredited claims agent or an accredited VA attorney. You can search those guys on va.gov. We've done videos and talked about it a bajillion times. Va.gov has a search tool where you can find an accredited legal professional to help you file those claims or those appeals.
Leah Bucholz:So you and your legal professional may consider including things like relevant eye exams, specialist reports, if it's a secondary claim, if you have a medical opinion from your doctor or from another medical professional that can comment on how it's related to that other service connected disability, any lay statements that may be relevant, about how it's affecting your life and your daily living. So cataracts might seem like a common condition that can be tied to your service, but they can really have a real impact on your quality of life, your VA benefits, and just overall functioning, right? So understanding VA's criteria and being thorough in your documentation can make a real difference. So just to touch very quickly on the C and P examination because we talk about that quite a bit, we have a big series on C and P exams. So generally speaking, if you're gonna be evaluated for your cataracts, it's probably gonna be by an eye specialist or like an optometrist or an ophthalmologist.
Leah Bucholz:They're gonna do different types of examinations and look at that DBQ that you can find on va.gov. They're gonna run down that DBQ for eye conditions, specifically the cataract elements. And you'll get a You should, after you file that claim, if VA believes that there's enough information to warrant exam, they're going to send you a packet in the mail discussing where your exam's gonna be, who it's gonna be with, the doctor's name, how long they've been providing those types of exams, their specialty, you know, just the five w's. Right? You know, where the appointment is, all that kind of stuff.
Leah Bucholz:So then you're gonna show up to that exam, the examiner's gonna run down that DBQ and go over all the elements related to your cataracts, talk to you about the history of your cataracts, when it started, review any medical records that you've submitted or that VA has had, if you've been seeing VA care or whatever, they should have those documents. They're gonna finish the exam, submit it to VA, and then the adjudicators are gonna take a look at all the evidence, including whatever you've submitted, your medical records, your C and P exam, and they're gonna decide whether or not that they believe, VA adjudicators believe that this is related to your service. And if they do, then they're gonna assign a rating based on what we discussed earlier, what the CFR allows for based on that pre surgical or post surgical ratings and the elements that go into ratings. And then you'll get notified, right? So I hope this was helpful.
Leah Bucholz:If you guys have any comments, questions, wanna share your experiences, I always love to hear about it because it helps me get smarter about what I'm doing and also helps us in the veteran community kinda support each other. So please drop some comments and let me know what your thoughts are. If there's anything else you'd like to hear about from a vision perspective, I think this is one of our first vision videos we've done and I've had a lot of people asking me for them. So if there's other vision related videos that you'd like to hear about, I'm happy to do them. We did do dry eye syndrome recently.
Leah Bucholz:So if you haven't seen that one, check it out. It's a good video as well. As always, thank you for watching. Thank you for your service and please like and subscribe. Alright guys, thanks again and talk to you guys soon.