What is the legal definition of blindness?
Federal and State laws define blindness as occurring when a person’s “central visual acuity does not exceed 20/200 in the better eye with correcting lenses or when visual acuity is greater than 20/200 but is accompanied by a limitation in the field of vision in the better eye to such a degree that the widest diameter of the visual field subtends an angle no greater than 20 degrees as determined by an ophthalmologist or a physician skilled in diseases of the eye.” Practically speaking, a person is blind when vision has deteriorated to the point that, to function capably and efficiently, the individual uses alternative techniques to accomplish the majority of life’s daily activities, even though there is some residual vision that may well be quite useful for certain, limited purposes.
