Citation Nr: 21075721
Decision Date: 12/21/21	Archive Date: 12/21/21

DOCKET NO. 15-43 834
DATE: December 21, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to a disability rating in excess of 10 percent prior to August 26, 2020 and in excess of 30 percent thereafter for GERD is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from May 1989 until June 2010.

In August 2019, the Veteran testified at a hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge. A transcript of that hearing is of record.

This appeal was most recently before the Board in August 2021 when it was remanded for an addendum medical opinion. Unfortunately, there has not been substantial compliance with the Board's prior remand instructions and another remand is now required. Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998). 

Entitlement to a disability rating in excess of 10 percent prior to August 26, 2020 and in excess of 30 percent thereafter for GERD is remanded.

The claim must be remanded again because the August 2021 VA opinion is inadequate. 

The opinion provider was asked to address the likelihood that the Veteran's symptoms upon emergency room admission in July 2015 were associated with his service-connected GERD. The clinician responded by providing a list of symptoms that "may occur" with small bowel obstruction and a list of "the main symptoms" associated with GERD. The clinician then opined that "[i]t is possible" the nausea and vomiting were mislabeled as the regurgitation that is experienced in GERD. In addition to the speculative language, the examiner's ultimate opinion was based on consideration of generic diagnostic information, rather than consideration of the specific facts of this Veteran's claim.  . 

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

Obtain and addendum opinion from the August 2021 opinion provider, if possible, or an appropriate clinician, if unavailable regarding the Veteran's GERD disability. Copies of all pertinent records should be provided to the examiner for review. After review of the record, the opinion provider is asked to answer the following: 

Is it at least as likely as not (50 percent or greater probability) that Veteran's admission to an emergency room in July 2015 to treat symptoms of cramping and upper abdominal pain associated with nausea and vomiting are a manifestation of the Veteran's GERD disability? 

In answering the foregoing, the opinion provider should consider, and discuss as appropriate, the Veteran's lay statement that the symptoms he experienced in July 2015 were due to his GERD disability. 

All opinions must be supported by complete rationale. If the opinion provider determines a requested opinion cannot be reached without resort to speculation, they must state why. 

 

 

M.E. Larkin

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	M.D. Collins, 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.