Citation Nr: 1319772 Decision Date: 06/19/13 Archive Date: 06/27/13 DOCKET NO. 08-14 570 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in St. Petersburg, Florida THE ISSUE Entitlement to service connection for a psychiatric disorder, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), to include as secondary to service-connected asthma. REPRESENTATION Appellant represented by: Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States WITNESS AT HEARING ON APPEAL Appellant ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD H. Bunker, Associate Counsel INTRODUCTION The Veteran served on active duty from October 1978 to February 1982. This case comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from an August 2006 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in White River Junction, Vermont. Jurisdiction has since been transferred to the St. Petersburg, Florida RO. An April 2008 administrative decision by the RO also found that the service connection could not be established for PTSD as the Veteran's claim revolved around a July 1979 incident which was due to his own willful misconduct. The Veteran testified at a Board hearing in Washington, DC in March 2009. This transcript has been associated with the file. This case was previously brought before the Board in March 2010 at which time the claim was remanded to the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) to further assist the Veteran with the development of his appeal. The case is once again before the Board. 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 Unfortunately, a remand is required again in this case. Although the Board sincerely regrets the additional delay, it is necessary to ensure that there is a complete record upon which to decide the Veteran's claim so that he is afforded every possible consideration. The Veteran contends that his PTSD is the result of service, or in the alternative, to his service-connected asthma. For secondary service connection, it must be shown that the disability for which the claim is made is proximately due to or the result of service-connected disease or injury or that service-connected disease or injury has chronically worsened the disability for which service connection is sought. 38 C.F.R. § 3.310; Allen v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 439 (1995) (en banc). The Veteran has argued that he believes his asthma was caused by an incident during basic training when he was forced to enter the gas chamber with a faulty gas mask and was unable to breathe and feared being smothered to death. He reported that he continued to have fears about dying due to an inability to breathe. See May 2008 Representative's Statement and February 2009 VA treatment record. As the Veteran has never been afforded a VA examination to determine if he had a psychiatric disorder related to the above in-service incident or his service-connected asthma, the claim should be remanded for an examination. The Veteran should also be provided with proper notice on substantiating his claim for secondary service connection. All updated VA treatment records should also be obtained. Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Provide the Veteran with VCAA notice on substantiating his claim for service connection for a psychiatric disorder as secondary to his service-connected asthma. 2. Obtain the Veteran's VA treatment records, dated since March 2009. 3. After completing the above, schedule the Veteran for a VA psychiatric examination by a psychologist or psychiatrist. The entire claims file must be reviewed by the examiner in conjunction with the opinion. The examiner should confirm in the examination report that (s)he has reviewed the folder in conjunction with the examination. (a) The examiner must provide an opinion as to whether the Veteran meets the DSM-IV criteria for any current psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD. (b) The examiner must provide an opinion as to whether it is at least as likely as not (50% or greater probability) that any current psychiatric disorder had its clinical onset during active service or is related to the claimed incident during basic training when the Veteran had to wear a faulty gas mask in the gas chamber for testing, which caused him to cough and choke. See e.g., May 2008 statement. (c) The examiner must provide an opinion as to whether it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran's service-connected asthma either (a) caused or (b) permanently worsened (aggravated) any current psychiatric disorder. In particularly, the Veteran has indicated that he has fears about dying due to an inability to breathe. The supporting rationale for all opinions expressed must be provided. If the examiner is unable to provide any opinion as requested, the examiner should fully explain the reason why such opinion could not be rendered. 4. Ensure the opinion is responsive to this determinative issue of causation or provides sufficient explanation as to why it cannot be. If it is not, take any needed corrective action. See Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998); 38 C.F.R. § 4.2. 5. After completing the above, and any other development deemed necessary, readjudicate the claim. If the benefit sought on appeal is not granted, the Veteran and his representative should be furnished with a supplemental statement of the case and afforded a reasonable opportunity to respond before the record is returned to the Board for further review. The appellant 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). _________________________________________________ P.M. DILORENZO 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).