Citation Nr: 21009476 Decision Date: 02/22/21 Archive Date: 02/22/21 DOCKET NO. 16-42 924 DATE: February 22, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for chronic gastritis is denied. FINDING OF FACT During the period on appeal, the Veteran has not had chronic gastritis or residuals of her 2011 gastritis. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for compensation for chronic gastritis pursuant to 38 U.S.C. § 1151 are not met. 38 U.S.C. § 1151, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.361. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION This appeal comes to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) from an August 2014 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Montgomery, Alabama. The Veteran provided sworn testimony in support of her appeal during a hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge in August 2017; the hearing transcript has been associated with the file and has been reviewed. 1. Entitlement to compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for chronic gastritis The Veteran contends that medication prescribed by the VA caused or aggravated her chronic gastritis, therefore compensation is warranted under 38 U.S.C. § 1151. She has also argued that the removal of her gallbladder aggravated her gastritis. Under the law, compensation shall be awarded for a veteran’s qualifying additional disability in the same manner as if such additional disability was service connected. 38 U.S.C. § 1151(a). A qualifying disability is one that is not the result of a veteran’s willful misconduct, and that was caused by hospital care, medical or surgical treatment, or examination furnished the veteran under any law administered by VA, and the proximate cause of the disability is carelessness, negligence, lack of proper skill, error in judgment, or similar instance of fault on the part of VA in furnishing the hospital care, medical or surgical treatment, or examination; or an event not reasonably foreseeable. In addition, service connection may be granted, on a secondary basis, for a disability which is proximately due to or the result of an established service-connected disorder. 38 C.F.R. § 3.310 The Veteran is not currently service-connected for removal of her gallbladder. Her claim for compensation for the condition under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 was denied in an August 2020 rating decision. Therefore, service connection for a disability secondary to her gallbladder removal is not applicable. The Board further finds that a preponderance of the evidence is against finding that service connection is warranted for gastritis under 38 U.S.C. § 1151. VA treatment records show the Veteran was prescribed ferrous sulfate from September 2009 to September 2010. A VA treatment record reflects that the Veteran reported in August 2010 that she had ceased taking the prescribed ferrous sulfate because it caused her reflux, indigestion, and heartburn. In January 2011 a gastric biopsy was conducted that was read to show focal mild chronic gastritis. A distal esophagus biopsy done at the same time showed benign gastric mucosa, showing chronic inflammation, negative for dysplasia and malignancy. It also showed benign squamous mucosa, showing focal features consistent with mild reflux esophagitis. A February 2011 VA treatment record indicates the Veteran had a prescription of 50 milligram of tramadol, two tablets, three times a day for ankle pain. Medical treatment records reflect that in April 2011 the Veteran underwent an enema to treat abdominal pain and constipation. In October 2014 the Veteran had her gallbladder removed. In February 2018, the Veteran underwent a VA examination. The examiner opined that the Veteran’s 2011 mild, focal, chronic gastritis was less likely than not caused by ferrous sulfate prescribed by the VA but was more likely of a peptic etiology as the Veteran also had distal esophagitis with glandular metaplasia. A review of the Veteran’s VA treatment records does not reflect an ongoing diagnosis or additional episodes of gastritis. A May 2019 esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) included findings of a small hiatal hernia and a single localized diminutive erosion in the cardia, but no finding of gastritis. The threshold requirement for the granting of service connection, including for a claim under 38 U.S.C. § 1151(a), is evidence of a current qualifying disability. In the absence of evidence of a current disability, there can be no valid claim. Brammer v. Derwinski, 3 Vet. App. 223, 225 (1992). The requirement in such a claim of current disability “is satisfied when a claimant has a disability at the time a claim for VA disability compensation is filed or during the pendency of that claim and that a claimant may be granted service connection even though the disability resolves prior to the Secretary’s adjudication of the claim.” See McClain v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 319 (2007). A preponderance of the evidence is against finding that the Veteran has had gastritis during the period on appeal or residuals of her 2011 episode of gastritis. Further, a preponderance of the evidence is against finding that the Veteran’s gastritis diagnosed in 2011 was caused by medication prescribed by the VA. The February 2018 VA examiner opined that the etiology was more likely peptic. The Board acknowledges the Veteran’s own contention but finds that as a lay person she does not have the education, training, or experience to competently opine as to the etiology of her 2011 gastritis. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(a)(1); see also Kahana v. Shinseki, 24 Vet. App. 428, 438 (2011). Based on the forgoing, the Board finds that a preponderance of the evidence is against entitlement to compensation for chronic gastritis under 38 U.S.C. § 1151, the benefit of the doubt doctrine does not apply, and the claim must be denied. H. SEESEL Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board A. Christensen 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.