Citation Nr: 0811847 Decision Date: 04/10/08 Archive Date: 04/23/08 DOCKET NO. 06-08 764 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Portland, Oregon THE ISSUE Entitlement to an initial disability rating in excess of 30 percent for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). REPRESENTATION Appellant represented by: Oregon Department of Veterans' Affairs ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD K. Ahlstrom, Associate Counsel INTRODUCTION The veteran served on active duty from February 1969 to August 1970. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from an October 2004 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Portland, Oregon. The appeal is REMANDED to the RO via the Appeals Management Center (AMC), in Washington, DC. VA will notify the appellant if further action is required. REMAND Where, as in the instant case, the appeal arises from the original assignment of a disability evaluation following an award of service connection, the severity of the disability at issue is to be considered during the entire period from the initial assignment of the disability rating to the present time. See Fenderson v. West, 12 Vet. App. 119 (1999). The December 2004 notice of disagreement submitted by the veteran indicates that he intended to continue obtaining treatment at the Oregon Vet Center. The record is not clear regarding whether the veteran still seeks treatment at the Vet Center; since records of more recent treatment are critical to adjudicating this appeal and determining whether a staged rating is appropriate, any current treatment records must be obtained. The veteran's most recent VA examination was in August 2004. As staged ratings may be applicable, it is critical that the record contain current treatment records and that the veteran be scheduled for a more contemporaneous VA examination to determine the current severity of the veteran's PTSD. Accordingly, the case is REMANDED to the AMC for the following action: 1. The AMC should ask the veteran to identify any psychiatric treatment or evaluation he has received since April 2004 and to provide any releases necessary to obtain records of such treatment or evaluation. The RO should obtain complete records of all such treatment and evaluation from all sources identified by the veteran. The RO must obtain copies of any records of VA treatment the veteran has received for psychiatric disability since April 2004 and records of any treatment sessions at the Vet Center in Portland, Oregon since April 2004 (that have not already been associated with the record). 2. Schedule the veteran for a VA psychiatric examination to determine the current severity of his PTSD. His claims folder must be reviewed by the examiner in conjunction with the examination. The examiner must list all symptoms attributable to the veteran's PTSD, and opine regarding the degree of their severity and the functional impairment due to PTSD, alone. If there are symptoms and associated impairment due to co-existing psychiatric entities, the examiner should identify the co-existing disability entities and their associated symptoms and impairment, to the extent possible. The examiner must explain the rationale for all opinions given. 3. Then, readjudicate the claim of entitlement to higher initial rating for PTSD. If the determination remains unfavorable to the veteran, the AMC must issue a supplemental statement of the case and provide the veteran and his representative a reasonable period of time in which to respond before this case is returned to the Board. The veteran has the right to submit additional evidence and argument on the matter or matters the Board has remanded. Kutscherousky v. West, 12 Vet. App. 369 (1999). This claim must be afforded expeditious treatment. The law requires that all claims that are remanded by the Board of Veterans' Appeals or by the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims for additional development or other appropriate action must be handled in an expeditious manner. See 38 U.S.C.A. §§ 5109B, 7112 (West Supp. 2007). _________________________________________________ J. A. MARKEY Veterans Law Judge, Board of Veterans' Appeals Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (West 2002), only a decision of the Board of Veterans' Appeals is appealable to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. This remand is in the nature of a preliminary order and does not constitute a decision of the Board on the merits of your appeal. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1100(b) (2007).