Citation Nr: 19183294 Decision Date: 11/05/19 Archive Date: 11/04/19 DOCKET NO. 16-11 958 DATE: November 5, 2019 REMANDED Entitlement to an initial compensable rating for gastric ulcer is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from November 1971 until November 1974. This matter comes before the Board of Veteran’s Appeals (Board) on appeal from an April 2013 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), North Little Rock, Arkansas regional office (RO). The Veteran presented sworn testimony at an August 2019 hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge. A transcript of the testimony is of record. Entitlement to an initial compensable rating for gastric ulcer is remanded. The Veteran was afforded a VA examination in April 2013. Based on this examination, he was awarded a non-compensable rating for gastric ulcer, effective April 2012. The Veteran submitted a Notice of Disagreement in April 2013 contesting the non-compensable rating. The Veteran testified at an August 2019 hearing that he regularly experiences pain after eating and suffers from nausea two to three times per month. He also testified that he suffers from gas and bloating daily and has experienced weight loss due to his inability to eat as a result of his service-connected ulcer. Considering the amount of time since his last examination for this disorder and the possible increase in severity, a new examination is needed to fully and fairly evaluate the current severity of the Veteran’s gastric ulcer. See Palczewski v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 174, 181-82 (2007), citing Caluza v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 498, 505 -06 (1998) (“Where the record does not adequately reveal the current state of the claimant’s disability... the fulfillment of the statutory duty to assist requires a thorough and contemporaneous medical examination.”). See also Snuffer v. Gober, 10 Vet. App. 400 (1997); Caffrey v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 377 (1994) (wherein the Court determined the Board should have ordered a contemporaneous examination of the Veteran because a 23-month old examination was too remote in time to adequately support the decision in an appeal for an increased rating); VAOPGCPREC 11-95 (1995). The matter is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Schedule the Veteran for an examination by an appropriate clinician to determine the current severity of his service-connected ulcer disorder. The examiner should provide a full description of the disability and report all signs and symptoms necessary for evaluating the Veteran’s disability under the rating criteria. The examiner must attempt to elicit information regarding the severity, frequency, and duration of symptoms. 2. Then readjudicate the claim. If the benefit sought on appeal remains denied, the Veteran and his representative should be furnished with a Supplemental Statement of the Case and be afforded the applicable opportunity to respond. The Veteran has the right to submit additional evidence and argument on the matter the Board has remanded. Kutscherousky v. West, Vet. App. 369 (1999). The claim must be afforded expeditious treatment. The law requires that all claims that are remanded by the Board or by the United States Court of Appeals for Veteran Claims for additional development or other appropriate action must be handled in an expeditious manner. See 38 U.S.C. §§ 5109B, 7112 (2012). Cynthia M. Bruce Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Timothy Hatfield, Associate 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.