Citation Nr: 20006000
Decision Date: 01/24/20	Archive Date: 01/23/20

DOCKET NO. 19-12 101
DATE: January 24, 2020

REMANDED

Entitlement to a compensable rating for gastritis is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Navy from April 1979 to August 1984.

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a September 2018 rating decision by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Baltimore, Maryland.  

In October 2018, the Veteran submitted a Notice of Disagreement (NOD) with the rating decision denying a compensable rating for gastritis.  In March 2019, a Statement of the Case (SOC) was issued, but it did not address such issue.  The Veteran submitted a Substantive Appeal (VA Form 9) of all issues listed on the March 2019 SOC.  Despite the lack of an SOC addressing a compensable rating for gastritis, the appeal was improperly certified to the Board.

1. Entitlement to a compensable rating for gastritis is remanded.

Regarding the claim of entitlement to gastritis, the Veteran submitted a timely notice of disagreement with a September 2018 rating decision denying a compensable rating for gastritis, but a SOC has not yet been issued addressing such claim.  The SOC issued on March 2019 does not address the issue of a compensable rating for gastritis.  Due to an administrative error, the appeal was improperly certified to the Board.  According to VA’s Veterans Appeals Control and Locator System (VACOLS), the RO has acknowledged the Veteran’s October 2018 NOD with respect to the issue of entitlement to a compensable rating for gastritis.  However, the Board lacks jurisdiction to decide this appeal because no SOC has been issued regarding such issue.  Where a notice of disagreement has been filed but an SOC has not been issued addressing the claim, the Board must remand the appeal to the agency of original jurisdiction so that an SOC may be issued.  A remand is required for the AOJ to issue a statement of the case.  38 C.F.R. § 20.200; Manlincon v. West, 12 Vet. App. 238, 240-41 (1999). 

Accordingly, the matter is REMANDED for the following action:

Issue an SOC as to the issue of entitlement to a compensable rating for gastritis, in response to the timely NOD that the Veteran filed in October 2018.  The SOC should undertake a full legal analysis of the merits of the claim based on all relevant evidence of record. 

Send the Veteran and her representative a SOC that addresses the issue of a compensable rating for gastritis.  If the Veteran perfects an appeal by submitting a timely VA Form 9, the issue should be returned to the Board for further appellate consideration. 

 

KRISTY L. ZADORA

Acting Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	K. Wilson, 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.