Citation Nr: 21011788 Decision Date: 03/02/21 Archive Date: 03/02/21 DOCKET NO. 11-26 719 DATE: March 2, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to an increased disability evaluation for a gastrointestinal disorder, currently rated as 30 percent disabling, on a schedular basis, is remanded. Entitlement to an increased disability evaluation for a gastrointestinal disorder, currently rated as 30 percent disabling, on an extraschedular basis, is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from January 1986 to October 1991. This case comes to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a May 2009 decision that, in pertinent part, denied an increase in a 10 percent rating for a gastrointestinal disorder. A videoconference hearing was held in March 2015 before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge (VLJ) of the Board. Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties, a transcript of this hearing could not be produced. The Veteran was subsequently offered the opportunity for another Board hearing, and in June 2015, he declined another hearing. The matter was remanded for further development in August 2015. Following the requested development, the Board, in a July 2017 decision, in pertinent part, denied an evaluation in excess of 10 percent for the Veteran’s service-connected gastrointestinal disorder. The Veteran appealed the denial to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). In April 2018, the parties filed a Joint Motion for Partial Remand (JMPR). Later that month, the Court granted the JMPR and remanded the matter to the Board for actions consistent with the JMPR. In August 2018, the Board remanded this matter for additional development, to include the performance of an additional VA examination and to obtain an opinion from the Director of Compensation with regard to the assignment of an extraschedular disability evaluation. The Board once again remanded this matter for further development in August 2020. Unfortunately, as will be discussed in greater detail below, the matter must be once again be remanded for further development. In the August 2020 remand, the Board requested that the Veteran be scheduled for a VA examination, with the examiner specifically noting the medication the Veteran took to control his gastrointestinal disorder, and to comment, to the extent possible, on the additional symptoms and related impairment that would be present without the relief provided by medication used to treat the condition. The Board noted that the requested opinion had not been provided. In the August 2020 remand, the Board again requested that the examiner specifically note the medication the Veteran took to control his gastrointestinal disorder, and comment, to the extent possible, on the additional symptoms and related impairment that would be present without the relief provided by medication used to treat the condition. In conjunction with the Board remand, an additional VA examination addendum report was prepared in October 2020. While the examiner commented on the symptoms caused by the service-connected GERD and noted that the Veteran was taking daily medication to control his GERD, she did not comment on what additional symptoms and related impairment would be present without the relief provided by medication used to treat the condition. The Board finds that this was one of the specific bases for the original JMPR. To date, such an opinion has not been rendered. A remand by the Board confers on the Veteran, as a matter of law, the right to compliance with the remand. Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998). The issue of increased disability evaluation for a gastrointestinal disorder, currently rated as 30 percent disabling, on an extraschedular basis, is inextricably intertwined with the schedular issue. The appropriate remedy where a pending claim is inextricably intertwined with a claim currently on appeal is to defer adjudication of the claim on appeal pending the adjudication of the inextricably intertwined claim. Harris v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 180 (1991). The matters are REMANDED for the following action: (Continued on the next page)   1. If available, return the claims folder to the examiner who provided the October 2020 addendum report. Following a review of the record, the examiner must specifically note the medication the Veteran takes to control his gastrointestinal disorder, and comment, to the extent possible, on the additional symptoms and related impairment that would be present without the relief provided by medication used to treat the condition. If the examiner is not available provide the claims folder to an appropriate medical provider and request that the above opinion be provided. Complete detailed rationale is requested for each opinion. 2. Readjudicated all pending issues. A SSOC should be issued. K. Parakkal Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board T. S. Kelly, 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.