Citation Nr: 1318979 Decision Date: 06/11/13 Archive Date: 06/21/13 DOCKET NO. 08-30 724 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Roanoke, Virginia THE ISSUE Entitlement to service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). REPRESENTATION Appellant represented by: The American Legion ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD P. Childers, Counsel INTRODUCTION The Veteran served on active duty from September 1977 to September 1981; and from November 1985 to February 1994, including service in the Southwest Asia Theater of Operations in support of Operation Desert Storm. Commendations and awards include a Southwest Asia Service Medal with 3 Stars and a Kuwaiti Liberation Medal. This case comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a January 2008 rating decision by Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Roanoke, Virginia. In a decision in April 2012, the Board denied the issue of service connection for PTSD. In August 2012 the Veteran appealed the Board's April 2012 denial of his claim for service connection for PTSD to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). In January 2013 the parties filed a Joint Motion for Remand (JMR) to vacate and remand the Board's April 2012 decision; and in an Order dated in January 2013, the Court granted the parties' motion. The appeal is REMANDED to the RO via the Appeals Management Center (AMC), in Washington, D.C. VA will notify the appellant if further action is required. REMAND In support of his claim for service connection for PTSD the Veteran reports that he saw a medic's legs blown apart by a mine in a bunker in April or May of 1991; during his tour in Kuwait. He was unable to remember the name of the medic but reports that the medic was assigned to his company; the 3rd Infantry Division., 1st of the 7th Infantry, Kuwait. Service personnel records confirm that the Veteran was stationed in Saudi Arabia from December 1990 to May 1991. In April 2007, and again January 2009, the Veteran was diagnosed with PTSD by a private licensed professional counselor based on the Veteran's specifically recalled stressor events, and on the Veteran's exposure to war in general. In his 2007 assessment the provider noted that the Veteran was "near the front lines most of the time and was fearful for his life on a daily basis as incidents of war were all around him." Establishing service connection for PTSD generally requires: (1) medical evidence diagnosing PTSD; (2) credible supporting evidence that the claimed in-service stressor actually occurred; and (3) medical evidence of a link between current symptomatology and the claimed in-service stressor. 38 C.F.R. § 3.304(f) (2011); see also Cohen v. Brown, 10 Vet. App. 128 (1997). As the JMR determined that verification must be attempted concerning his claimed stressor of a medic losing his legs in a mine explosion, remand is required. The Veteran should be asked to provide the medic's name. Although he previously indicated he could not remember it, it appears the Veteran's representative, as suggested in the March 15, 2012 Written Brief Presentation, can help provide such information to him. The Veteran is hereby advised that failure to provide such information could negatively impact the ability to verify the stressor. "The duty to assist is not always a one-way street. If a veteran wishes help, he cannot passively wait for it in those circumstances where he may or should have information that is essential in obtaining the putative evidence." Wood v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 190, 193 (1991). Relevant ongoing medical records should also be requested. 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. Ask the Veteran to provide the names and addresses of all of his mental health care providers. After securing the necessary release, request any relevant records identified which are not duplicates of those already contained in the claims file. If any requested records are not obtainable, the Veteran should be notified of such. In addition, relevant VA treatment records dating since September 2011 should be obtained from the Richmond VAMC, to include associated clinics. 2. Ask the Veteran to provide the name of the medic whose legs were blown off in April or May of 1991 in Kuwait. 3. Regardless of whether a name is provided, attempt to verify, through official military sources (including morning reports and unit histories), the Veteran's allegation that a medic lost his legs in a mine explosion in Kuwait in April or May 1991, during the Veteran's tour of duty with the U.S. Army 3rd Infantry Division, 1st of the 7th Infantry, in Saudi Arabia/Iraq/Kuwait; 4. If and only if the stressor is verified, schedule a VA PTSD examination to determine whether the Veteran suffers from PTSD as a result of the verified stressor. 5. After completion of all of the above to the extent possible, readjudicate the claim for service connection for PTSD. If the claim remains denied, furnish the Veteran and his representative a Supplemental Statement of the Case and afford the appropriate time period to respond. Then return the case to the Board for appellate review, unless otherwise indicated. The Veteran 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. 2012). _________________________________________________ K.A. BANFIELD 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).