Citation Nr: 22017640
Decision Date: 03/25/22	Archive Date: 03/25/22

DOCKET NO. 16-16 228
DATE: March 25, 2022

REMANDED

Entitlement to service connection for non-specific ulcers is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from March 1957 to March 1961.  In March 2019, the Veteran and his spouse testified before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge.  The transcript is of record.

This issue was previously remanded by the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) in April 2021 together with claims for service connection for residuals of appendicitis and inguinal hernia.  The other issues were granted in a January 2022 rating decision and are no longer on appeal.  

1. Entitlement to service connection for non-specific ulcers is remanded.

Although VA examined the Veteran's ulcer condition in July 2021, the examiner's opinion only addressed the question as to whether the Veteran's ulcer condition was caused by his appendicitis.  The remand also required that the examiner opine on whether the Veteran's current ulcer conditions was worsened in any way by the appendectomy and its residuals or the hernia and its residuals.  A supplemental examination opinion is needed.

 

The matter is REMANDED for the following action:

Obtain an addendum opinion from an appropriate clinician addressing whether it is at least as likely as not aggravated, or an approximate balance of the evidence, that the Veteran's ulcer condition underwent any incremental increase in disability, regardless of its permanence, due to the service-connected appendectomy and its residuals or hernia repair and its residuals. The term "incremental increase in disability" means additional impairment of earning capacity. Objective measurement, or numerical quantification, is not required to ascertain an increase in disability. Moreover, any "incremental increase in disability" need not be permanent.

 

 

MICHAEL A. HERMAN

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	P. Saindon, 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 This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.