Citation Nr: 24005366 Decision Date: 02/02/24 Archive Date: 02/02/24 DOCKET NO. 20-17 959 DATE: February 2, 2024 REMANDED Entitlement to an increased disability rating in excess of 30 percent for hiatal hernia with gastroesophageal reflux disease, esophagitis, gastric erosions, and gastric ulcers (hereinafter referred to as GERD), is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The appellant honorably served in the United States Navy from January 1996 to January 2000. Procedural History This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) from an appeal of a September 2018 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veterans Benefits Administration, the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ). The appellant timely filed a January 2019 notice of disagreement (NOD), which also included a claim for entitlement to service connection for a left hip disability. VBA then issued a statement of the case (SOC) in February 2020, and the appellant timely filed a Form 9, Appeal to the Board, in April 2020. In November 2020, the AOJ issued a rating decision granting entitlement to service connection for the left hip claim, effective as of the date of claim, which represented a full grant of the benefit sought. Thus, the left hip claim is no longer properly on appeal. Grantham v. Brown, 114 F.3d 1156 (Fed. Cir. 1977). That same month, the AOJ also issued a supplemental statement of the case (SSOC). In the April 2020 Form 9, the appellant elected to have an optional Board hearing. That proceeding was held before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge in October 2021, and a transcript of the proceeding is associated with the claims file. In July 2022, the appellant filed a new claim for GERD, while the current appeal was still pending. In November 2022, VBA sent the appellant a subsequent development letter responding to the July 2022 claim and indicating that his appeal remained pending. The Board regrets further delay, but a remand is required in order to obtain an updated examination of the service-connected condition. Entitlement to an increased disability rating in excess of 30 percent for GERD is remanded. Contentions The appellant contends that his service-connected GERD has worsened since his last VA examination, which occurred in October 2020. See Hearing transcript, October 27, 2021; VA GERD examination, October 30, 2020. Analysis In order to properly rate the appellant's condition, the Board requires an examination that details the current severity of the claimant's condition. See Allday v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 517, 526 (Vet. App. 1995) (indicating that where the record does not adequately reveal the current state of the claimant's disability, fulfillment of the statutory duty to assist requires a contemporaneous medical examination, particularly if there is no additional medical evidence that adequately addresses the level of impairment of the disability since the previous examination). The appellant's last examination of the service-connected condition was in October 2020, almost 3-and-a-half years ago. See VA GERD examination, October 30, 2020. Moreover, at his hearing, the appellant testified that his condition had worsened since his last VA examination. See Hearing transcript, October 27, 2021. It is unclear from the claims file why it has taken almost two-and-a-half years to obtain an updated examination of the appellant. However, there does appear to be some scheduling confusion during the interim on the part of the AOJ, as the appellant was out of the country for an extended period of time. See, e.g., Report of General Information, June 20, 2023. Nevertheless, the appellant should be provided an opportunity to have the current severity of his symptoms for the service-connected condition documented. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. The AOJ should contact the appellant and all current representatives and request their assistance in identifying any outstanding relevant records. The AOJ should make reasonable attempts to obtain all identified outstanding records and associate them with the appellant's claims file. Any attempt to obtain records should be documented in the claims file. 2. After the above development is completed, schedule the appellant for an examination by an appropriate clinician to determine the current severity of his service-connected hiatal hernia with gastroesophageal reflux disease, esophagitis, gastric erosions, and gastric ulcers. 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. 3. Thereafter, readjudicate the claim. K.A. KENNERLY Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board S. Alexander Maisel, 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.