Citation Nr: 1330186 Decision Date: 09/20/13 Archive Date: 09/25/13 DOCKET NO. 10-03 239 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Columbia, South Carolina THE ISSUE Entitlement to service connection for a stomach disorder. REPRESENTATION Appellant represented by: Texas Veterans Commission ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD T. L. Douglas, Counsel INTRODUCTION The appellant is a Veteran who served on active duty from December 1986 to May 1994 and from October 2004 to October 2006. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a July 2009 rating decision by the Houston, Texas, Regional Office (RO) of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Appellate jurisdiction was subsequently transferred to the RO in Columbia, South Carolina. The Veteran withdrew his request for a Board hearing by correspondence dated in September 2011. A February 2013 rating decision established service connection for right knee, ankle, and heel disorders. The appeal as to these issues is considered to be fully resolved. The appeal is REMANDED to the RO via the Appeals Management Center (AMC), in Washington, DC. VA will notify the appellant if further action is required on his part. REMAND VA has a duty to notify and assist claimants in substantiating a claim for VA benefits. 38 U.S.C.A. §§ 5100, 5102, 5103, 5103A, 5107, 5126 (West 2002 & Supp. 2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.156(a), 3.159, 3.326(a) (2012). The Veteran was notified of the duties to assist and of the information and evidence necessary to substantiate his claim by correspondence dated in May 2009. VA's duty to assist requires reasonable efforts to assist claimants in obtaining evidence necessary to substantiate a claim and in claims for disability compensation requires that VA provide medical examinations or obtain medical opinions when necessary for an adequate decision. 38 C.F.R. § 3.159. A medical examination or medical opinion is deemed to be necessary if the record does not contain sufficient competent medical evidence to decide the claim, but includes competent lay or medical evidence of a current diagnosed disability or persistent or recurrent symptoms of disability, establishes that the veteran suffered an event, injury, or disease in service, or has a disease or symptoms of a disease manifest during an applicable presumptive period, and indicates the claimed disability or symptoms may be associated with the established event, injury, or disease. 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(c)(4). The types of evidence that indicate that a current disability may be associated with military service include credible evidence of continuity and symptomatology such as pain or other symptoms capable of lay observation. McLendon v. Nicholson, 20 Vet. App. 79 (2006). In this case, the Veteran contends that he has a stomach disorder as a result of medication, including anti-inflammatory medication, prescribed as treatment for his service-connected disabilities. The available VA medical evidence includes diagnoses of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) without opinions as to etiology. The Veteran's claim has not been addressed by a VA compensation examination. In light of the evidence of record, the Board finds a VA examination is required for an adequate determination. Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Request that the Veteran provide the names, addresses, and approximate dates of treatment of all medical care providers, VA and non-VA, who provided any treatment pertinent to the issue on appeal. After the Veteran has signed the appropriate releases, any indicated records should be obtained and associated with the claims folder. Appropriate efforts must be taken to obtain all pertinent VA treatment records, unless further efforts would be futile. All attempts to procure records should be documented in the file. If any records identified by the Veteran cannot be obtained he should be provided a notice to (a) identify the specific records VA is unable to obtain; (b) briefly explain the efforts made to obtain those records; (c) describe any further action to be taken by VA with respect to the claim; and (d) explain that he is ultimately responsible for providing the evidence. 2. Following completion of the above, schedule the Veteran for an appropriate VA examination for an opinion as to whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent probability or greater) that the Veteran has a present stomach disorder, to include GERD, as a result of active service or treatment provided for a service-connected disability. Opinions should be provided based on any examination findings; the credible lay evidence of symptom manifestation and treatment; a review of the medical evidence of record; and sound medical principles. All findings, along with the complete rationale for all opinions expressed, should be set forth in the examination report. 3. After completion of the above and any additional development deemed necessary, the issue on appeal should be readjudicated with consideration of all the evidence of record. If the benefit sought remains denied, the Veteran and his representative should be furnished a supplemental statement of the case and should be afforded the opportunity to respond. Thereafter, the case should be returned to the Board for further appellate review, if in order. The appellant has the right to submit additional evidence and argument on the matter or matters the Board has remanded. Kutscherousky v. West, 12 Vet. App. 369 (1999). This claim must be afforded expeditious treatment. The law requires that all claims that are remanded by the Board of Veterans' Appeals or by the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims for additional development or other appropriate action must be handled in an expeditious manner. See 38 U.S.C.A. §§ 5109B, 7112 (West Supp. 2012). _________________________________________________ BARBARA B. COPELAND Veterans Law Judge, Board of Veterans' Appeals Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (West 2002), only a decision of the Board of Veterans' Appeals is appealable to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. This remand is in the nature of a preliminary order and does not constitute a decision of the Board on the merits of your appeal. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1100(b) (2012).