Citation Nr: 21007035 Decision Date: 02/08/21 Archive Date: 02/08/21 DOCKET NO. 16-10 749 DATE: February 8, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to a rating in excess of 60 percent for Crohn's disease is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from July 2001 to August 2005. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) from an August 2014 rating decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In February 2019, the Veteran testified before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge. In May 2019 the Board granted a 60 percent rating for the Crohn’s disease. The Veteran appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for Veteran’s Claims (the Court). In a July 2020 Joint Motion for Partial Remand (JMPR), the Court vacated and remanded the Board’s decision and remanded for action consistent with the JMPR. Entitlement to a rating in excess of 60 percent for Crohn's disease is remanded. The July 2020 JMPR indicates the Board erred by: 1) not considering whether a contemporaneous VA examination was warranted for Crohn's disease, given the Veteran’s assertions of worsening since his last VA examination in July 2014; and 2) by failing to discuss whether his bowel surgery constituted a serious complication as contemplated by the rating criteria for a 100 percent rating. The JMPR indicated that the Veteran last underwent a VA examination in July 2014 and the record contains evidence of worsening since that examination. For instance, during his July 2014 VA examination, the Veteran reported occasional flares; whereas, during his February 2019 Board hearing he reported increasingly frequent attacks due to his Crohn’s disease. Moreover, an October 2014 private treatment record noted aggressive medical management. An April 2019 lay statement by the Veteran’s wife stated he has more frequent doctor’s appointments and is taking additional medication for his worsening Crohn's disease. Due to this evidence, the Veteran is to be afforded a new VA examination to ascertain the current severity and manifestations of his Crohn’s disease. The Court also indicated that the Board need determine whether his February 2014 surgery to treat, what was described in a preoperative diagnosis as “severe Crohn's disease,” and consisted of an ileocecal resection and repair of a small bowel fistula constitutes a “serious complication” under the Diagnostic Code 7323 such that a total rating is warranted. The examiner is asked to address this question during the examination. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: Schedule the Veteran for an examination by an appropriate clinician to determine the current severity of his 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. The examiner is asked to state whether the surgery the Veteran underwent in February 2014 to treat his Crohn’s disease, which consisted of an ileocecal resection and repair of a small bowel fistula, would reasonably constitute a “serious complication” of his Crohn’s disease. Please explain why or why not. D. JOHNSON Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board M.Aoughsten, 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.