blindness, legal

blindness, legal A degree of blindness that entitles a person to certain benefits according to the law. The definition of legal blindness varies from country to country. In the US, the definition of legal blindness that is used to determine eligibility for government disability benefits is as follows: 1 visual acuity of 20/200 or worse in the better eye with corrective lenses (20/200 means that a person must be at 20 feet from an eye chart to see what a person with normal vision can see at 200 feet); or 2 visual field restriction to 20 degrees diameter or less (tunnel vision) in the better eye. Note that these criteria do not necessarily indicate a person’s ability to function.