Citation Nr: 1106064 Decision Date: 02/14/11 Archive Date: 02/28/11 DOCKET NO. 06-24 851 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in San Diego, California THE ISSUE Entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). REPRESENTATION Appellant represented by: California Department of Veterans Affairs WITNESS AT HEARING ON APPEAL Appellant ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD C. L. Wasser, Counsel INTRODUCTION The Veteran served on active duty in the Navy from March 1970 to December 1973, and was awarded the Combat Action Ribbon. This case comes to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from an April 2005 decision by the RO in San Diego, California that in pertinent part, denied service connection for depressive disorder and PTSD. A video conference hearing was held before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge in August 2009. In October 2009, the Board remanded this case for additional development. 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 Board finds that all of the actions required by the Board's October 2009 remand have not been completed. When any action required by a remand is not undertaken, or is taken in a deficient manner, appropriate corrective action should be undertaken. See Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998). Therefore, another remand is required. In October 2009, the Board found that the medical evidence was conflicting as to the nature and etiology of the Veteran's current psychiatric disorders, and remanded this case partly to obtain additional medical records, and for a VA psychiatric examination. The VA examiner was to be asked whether the Veteran had a psychiatric disorder that existed prior to service, and if so, whether such disorder was aggravated by service, and if not, whether a psychiatric disorder was incurred in service. The record reflects that the RO obtained additional VA medical records, and determined that additional private medical records were unavailable. The Veteran underwent a VA examination in May 2010. The RO provided the examiner with the Board's remand instructions, but unfortunately did not provide the examiner with the Veteran's claims file in conjunction with the examination, as directed by the October 2009 remand. In his examination report, the examiner diagnosed PTSD (from childhood trauma), and stated that he could not answer the questions posed in the remand because he did not have the claims file. He stated that he was happy to answer these questions when he got the file. In September 2010, the RO provided the examiner with the claims file and again provided him with the questions asked in the October 2009 remand. In a brief response, the examiner stated only, "'C'-file is available and reviewed. Diagnosis is unchanged." As the examiner did not provide a medical opinion as to all of the remand questions, the Board finds that this examination is inadequate. If an examination report does not contain sufficient detail, it is incumbent upon the rating board to return the report as inadequate for evaluation purposes. See 38 C.F.R. § 4.2. This was not done. Very unfortunately, another remand is required to ascertain whether or not any preexisting psychiatric disorder was aggravated by service. Id.; Stegall, supra. Ongoing pertinent medical records should also be obtained. 38 U.S.C.A. § 5103A(c) (West 2002); see also Bell v. Derwinski, 2 Vet. App. 611 (1992) (VA medical records are in constructive possession of the agency, and must be obtained if the material could be determinative of the claim). Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following action: 1. The RO/AMC should attempt to obtain pertinent VA, Vet Center, or private medical records of treatment for a psychiatric disorder dating since August 2009 that are not already on file. 2. The RO/AMC should forward the claims file to the examiner who conducted the May 2010 VA examination. If that examiner is unavailable, another VA psychiatrist should be asked to provide the requested medical opinion. Based on the examination report and review of the record, the examiner is asked to answer the following questions: (a) Does the evidence of record clearly and unmistakably show that the Veteran had a psychiatric disorder that existed prior to his entry onto active duty? (b) If the answer is yes, does the evidence clearly and unmistakably show that the preexisting condition was not aggravated by service or that any increase in disability was due to the natural progression of the disease? Please identify any such evidence with specificity. (c) If the answer to either (a) or (b) is no, is it at least as likely as not that the current psychiatric disorder had its onset in service? A rationale for all opinions expressed should be provided. If the examiner cannot reach a conclusion without resorting to speculation, it should be so stated in the examiner's report. 3. After the development requested above has been completed to the extent possible, the RO should again review the record, including any additional evidence received since the last supplemental statement of the case. If the Veteran's claim remains denied, he and his representative should be furnished with a supplemental statement of the case and given the opportunity to respond before this case is returned to the Board. 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. 2010). _________________________________________________ M. E. LARKIN 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).