Citation Nr: 1042736 Decision Date: 11/15/10 Archive Date: 11/24/10 DOCKET NO. 08-12 776 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office and Insurance Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania THE ISSUE Entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include as secondary to IgA nephropathy with anemia, orthostatic hypotension, and hypertension. ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD David T. Cherry, Counsel INTRODUCTION The Veteran served on active duty from November 1985 to April 1986. This matter is before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a January 2007 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office and Insurance Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Board notes that when a claimant makes a claim, he is seeking service connection for symptoms regardless of how those symptoms are diagnosed or labeled. As such the Board has recharacterized the issue of entitlement to service connection for clinical depression, also claimed as physical and mental anxiety, as entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder. See Clemons v. Shinseki, 23 Vet. App. 1 (2009). In October 2010, the Veteran failed to report for a Travel Board hearing. No further development with regard to a hearing is necessary. 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 The Veteran asserts that he has a psychiatric disability that is secondary to his service-connected IgA nephropathy with anemia, orthostatic hypotension, and hypertension, which is evaluated as 80 percent disabling. In addition, based on this sole service- connected disability, the RO granted entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities (TDIU). To date, he has not been afforded a VA psychiatric examination to determine whether he has a psychiatric disability that is related to service or to his service-connected disability. In light of his contentions and the state of the record, the Board finds that a VA psychiatric examination is necessary to adjudicate this claim. As such, this claim must be remanded. In addition, the record shows that the Veteran receives treatment for his psychiatric disability. Thus, on remand, the RO should make sure to associate any pertinent, outstanding records with the claims folder. Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following action: 1. The RO should ask the Veteran to identify all treatment for a psychiatric disorder and should attempt to obtain any identified records. In any event, the RO should obtain all records from the Scranton Counseling Center since November 2006, and from the Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, VA Medical Center. All such records should be associated with the appellant's claims file. 2. Thereafter, the RO must arrange for a VA psychiatric examination of the Veteran to determine the etiology of any psychiatric disability found to be present. The claims folder should be made available and reviewed by the examiner. The examiner must opine whether it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran has a psychiatric disability that is related to or had its onset in service. The examiner must also opine whether it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran developed a psychiatric disability that is related to his service-connected disability, or was aggravated (made permanently worse) by the service-connected IgA nephropathy with anemia, orthostatic hypotension, and hypertension. In offering these impressions, the examiner must acknowledge and discuss the Veteran's lay report regarding the onset of his psychiatric disability. All findings and conclusions should be set forth in a legible report. 3. Thereafter, the RO should readjudicate the claim. If the benefit is not granted, the Veteran must be furnished with a supplemental statement of the case and afforded an opportunity to respond before the file is returned to the Board for further appellate consideration. The appellant has the right to submit additional evidence and argument on the matter 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. 2009). _________________________________________________ STEVEN D. REISS Acting 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) (2010).