Citation Nr: 1007489 Decision Date: 03/01/10 Archive Date: 03/11/10 DOCKET NO. 08-30 650 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Winston-Salem, North Carolina THE ISSUE Entitlement to service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD K. R. Fletcher, Counsel INTRODUCTION The appellant is a veteran who served on active duty from September 1969 to September 1971. This matter is before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a November 2007 rating decision by the Winston-Salem, Regional Office (RO) of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). 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 on his part. REMAND In various statements, the Veteran maintains that while stationed in Vietnam from November 1970 to October 1971, his base at Quang Tri was exposed to rocket attacks on several occasions. He also maintains that he was present in a building when a hand grenade exploded under the building. The Veteran's DD Form 214 notes that he had service in Vietnam from November 1970 to September 1971. However, there was no attempt to verify the Veteran's claimed stressors. The RO found that the Veteran failed to submit a minimum 3- month date range for his alleged stressor and that the information provided by the Veteran was insufficient to send to the U.S. Army and Joint Services Records Research Center (JSRRC) for verification. The Board notes that if the Veteran was stationed with a unit that was present while enemy attacks occurred, it would suggest that he was, in fact, exposed to such attacks. Pentecost v. Principi, 16 Vet. App. 124 (2002) (base subjected to rocket attacks during time that Veteran was stationed at the base). In other words, the Veteran's presence with the unit at the time such attacks occurred could corroborate his statement that he experienced such attacks personally. A stressor need not be corroborated in every detail. Suozzi v. Brown, 10 Vet. App. 307, 311 (1997). As such, further development is needed, as detailed below. Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following action: 1. The RO should undertake necessary action to attempt to verify the occurrence of the Veteran's alleged in- service stressors pursuant to VA Training Letter 07-02, as well as employing the stressor verification site added to VA's "Rating Job Aids" webpage on August 9, 2007. Thereafter, if further development is required, this REMAND, copies of the Veteran's DD Form 214, service personnel records, and any stressor statement submitted, should be sent by the RO to JSRRC. JSRRC should be requested to make an attempt to verify events related to the Veteran's claimed stressors. If unable to provide such information, they should be asked to identify the agency or department that may provide such information and follow- up inquiries should be conducted accordingly. If any source requires a specific time period in order to search unit records, the RO should designate the time period from November 1970 to September 1971 (further broken down into smaller time increments, as necessary). Once received, any documents must be reviewed in detail for purposes of stressor verification and associated with the Veteran's claims folder. 2. Following receipt of additional data from any and all sources, the RO must prepare a report detailing the nature of any in-service stressful event(s), verified by the data on file. The report and/or determination relating to each of the foregoing must then be added to the claims file. 3. If, and only if, a claimed stressor is verified, the Veteran should be scheduled for a VA psychiatric examination. All indicated tests and studies are to be performed. Prior to the examination, the claims folder and a copy of this remand must be made available to the psychiatrist or psychologist performing the examination for review of the case. A notation to the effect that this record review took place should be included in the report of the examiner. The examination must be conducted following the protocol in VA's Disability Examination Worksheet for Initial Evaluation for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Examination, revised on April 2, 2007. The examining psychiatrist or psychologist should be informed as to which, if any, of the claimed stressors or identified events have been verified. Based on a review of the record, and examination of the Veteran, and considering the identified stressors, the examiner should offer an opinion as to whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent probability or greater) that the Veteran has PTSD related to an event in service. The opinion should be provided based on the results of examination, a review of the medical evidence of record, and sound medical principles. All examination findings, along with the complete rationale for all opinions expressed, should be set forth in the examination report. 4. The Veteran must be given adequate notice of the date and place of any requested examination. A copy of all notifications, including the address where the notice was sent must be associated with the claims folder. The Veteran is to be advised that failure to report for a scheduled VA examination without good cause shown may have adverse effects on his claim. 5. After completion of the above and any additional development deemed necessary, the RO should review the issue remaining on appeal. All applicable laws and regulations should be considered. If the benefit sought remains denied, the Veteran should be furnished a supplemental statement of the case and be afforded the opportunity to respond. Thereafter, the case should be returned to the Board for appellate review. The appellant has the right to submit additional evidence and argument on the matter that the Board has remanded. See 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 for additional development or other appropriate action must be handled in an expeditious manner. See 38 U.S.C.A. §§ 5109B, 7112 (West Supp. 2009). _________________________________________________ CHERYL L. MASON 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) (2009).