Citation Nr: 21077107
Decision Date: 12/28/21	Archive Date: 12/28/21

DOCKET NO. 17-52 362
DATE: December 28, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to an evaluation in excess of 10 percent for Crohn's disease is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty in the U.S. Navy from June 1995 to February 1999.

In the October 2017 Form 9, the Veteran requested a live video conference hearing before the Board. The hearing was scheduled for March 2020, and the Veteran was deemed a no-show for the hearing. The Veteran has not provided evidence of good cause for the failure to appear at the hearing. As such, the Veteran's hearing request is withdrawn. 38 C.F.R. § 20.704 (d).

Entitlement to an evaluation in excess of 10 percent for Crohn's disease is remanded.

The Veteran was granted service connection for Crohn's disease with an initial evaluation of 10 percent pursuant to Diagnostic Code 7323.  The Veteran contends that a higher evaluation is warranted for the entire period on appeal; specifically, he requested a 30 percent disability rating. 

In the October 2017 Statement of the Case, the AOJ appears to have both denied and granted a 30 percent rating in that the heading states a 10 percent rating was confirmed and continued, however the reasons and bases section states the rating assigned is 30 percent rating. The codesheet from December 2017 reflects a 10 percent rating; it is the last codesheet in the file. While a December 2017 rating decision addresses an earlier effective date, it does not clarify this error. On remand, the AOJ should clarify the Veteran's current rating so the Board may properly assess. 

Additionally, the Veteran was last afforded a VA examination for his service-connected Crohn's disease in August 2015. While the mere passage of time since the last VA examination does not, in and of itself, warrant additional development, the Board finds that the March 2015 examination is too remote to be considered a contemporaneous medical examination sufficient to ascertain the current level of disability. See Green v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 121, 124 (1991); Caffrey v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 377 (1994); Palczewski v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 174 (2007). The Veteran should be afforded a contemporaneous VA examination which assesses the current level of his service-connected Crohn's disease and ensures the evaluation of this disability will be a fully informed one.

The matters are 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 Crohn's disease.  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.  

It should be noted that the Veteran is competent to attest to factual matters of which he had first-hand knowledge, including observable symptomatology. If there is a medical basis to support or doubt the history provided by the Veteran, the examiner should provide a fully reasoned explanation.

2. Rate the Veteran and issue a new codesheet due to the errors in the 2017 SOC. Readjudicate the claim and issue a new supplemental statement of the case.

 

 

Emily Tamlyn

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	K. Scanlan, 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.