Citation Nr: 1318105 Decision Date: 06/04/13 Archive Date: 06/11/13 DOCKET NO. 09-18 863A ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in St. Petersburg, Florida THE ISSUE Entitlement to an initial rating in excess of 70 percent for the service-connected posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) REPRESENTATION Appellant represented by: Disabled American Veterans WITNESS AT HEARING ON APPEAL The Veteran ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD Rebecca Feinberg, Counsel INTRODUCTION The Veteran served on active duty from January 1968 to November 1970. He also served in the Army Reserve. This matter initially came to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from an August 2006 rating decision by the RO. In January 2011, the Veteran testified at a hearing held at the RO before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge; a transcript of this hearing is associated with the claims file. In an April 2011 decision, the Board increased the rating for the service-connected PTSD to 70 percent and denied a rating in excess of 70 percent. The Veteran subsequently appealed this decision to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). In May 2012, the Court vacated that part of the Board's decision that denied a rating in excess of 70 percent for PTSD and remanded the matter to the Board. The issue of service connection for a neck disability has been raised by the record, but has not been adjudicated by the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ). Therefore, the Board does not have jurisdiction and refers the matter to the AOJ for appropriate action. The appeal is being remanded to the RO via the Appeals Management Center (AMC), in Washington, DC. VA will notify the Veteran if further action is required on his part. REMAND A review of the record shows that the Veteran was last afforded a VA examination responsive to his claim for increase in April 2009. The VA records show that, since that time, he underwent hospitalization for the service-connected PTSD in May 2009. In order to obtain complete information regarding the current severity of the Veteran's PTSD, the Board finds that a remand is necessary to afford him an examination. Furthermore, any additional relevant medical evidence, to include additional relevant VA records of treatment, must be sought for association with the claims file. See 38 U.S.C.A. § 5103A(a)-(c); Bell v. Derwinski, 2 Vet. App. 611, 613 (1992) (relevant VA treatment records are considered to be constructively contained in the claims folder and must be obtained before a final decision is rendered). Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following action: 1. The RO should take all indicated action to obtain copies of all VA records referable to treatment rendered him for the service-connected PTSD since April 2010, that have not already been associated with the Virtual VA claims file. 2. The RO then should undertake to have the Veteran scheduled for another VA psychiatric examination to determine the severity of the service-connected PTSD. The claims file should be made available to the examining psychiatrist for review, and such review should be acknowledged in the report. The VA examiner should identify all symptoms for the service-connected PTSD and provide a global assessment of functioning (GAF) score. After examining the Veteran and reviewing the entire record, the VA examiner should opine as to whether the service-connected PTSD is productive of total occupational and social impairment. If the VA examiner cannot ascribe particular symptoms to the service-connected PTSD, this should be indicated. Any opinions expressed must be accompanied by a complete rationale. 3. After completing all indicated development, the RO should readjudicate the claim remaining on appeal in light of all the evidence of record. If any benefit sought on appeal remains denied, the Veteran and his representative should be furnished a fully responsive Supplemental Statement of the Case and afforded a reasonable opportunity for response. Thereafter, if indicated, the case should be returned to the Board for the purpose of appellate disposition. 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. 2012). _________________________________________________ STEPHEN L. WILKINS 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) (2012).