Citation Nr: 1320197 Decision Date: 06/21/13 Archive Date: 07/02/13 DOCKET NO. 07-37 760 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in San Juan, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico THE ISSUES 1. Entitlement to service connection for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 2. Entitlement to service connection for an anxiety disorder. REPRESENTATION Veteran represented by: Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States WITNESS AT HEARING ON APPEAL The Veteran ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD J. L. Prichard, Counsel INTRODUCTION The Veteran had active military service from April 1951 to May 1953. He served in Korea, and his awards and decorations include the Combat Infantryman's Badge. This matter comes to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a July 2007 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in San Juan, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico that denied service connection for PTSD and an anxiety disorder. In February 2008, the Veteran testified at a RO hearing before a hearing officer. He also appeared at a hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge in April 2013. Transcripts of both hearings are in the claims folder. The Board has reviewed the Veteran's electronic record (Virtual VA) prior to rendering a decision in this case. It does not contain any evidence not already in the claims folder or considered by the RO. Please note this appeal has been advanced on the Board's docket pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 20.900(c) (2012). 38 U.S.C.A. § 7107(a)(2) (West 2002). The appeal is REMANDED to the RO via the Appeals Management Center (AMC), in Washington, DC. VA will notify the Veteran if further action is required. REMAND The Veteran contends that he has developed PTSD and an anxiety disorder as a result of active service. He states that he participated in combat in Korea, where he witnessed the deaths and injuries of many friends. The Veteran believes that his current symptoms are sufficient to support a diagnosis of PTSD. Service connection for PTSD requires medical evidence establishing a diagnosis of the condition, credible supporting evidence that the claimed in-service stressor actually occurred, and a link, established by medical evidence, between the current symptomatology and the claimed in-service stressor. 38 C.F.R. § 3.304(f) (2012). The record shows that the Veteran earned a Combat Infantryman's Badge during his service in Korea. His exposure to an in-service stressor is therefore conceded. The record further shows that the July 2007 rating decision that initially denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD and anxiety disorder did so based on a finding that the Veteran did not have a current diagnosis of either PTSD or an anxiety disorder. Subsequent adjudications of the Veteran's claims have continued to deny service connection on the same basis. The Veteran was afforded a VA examination in June 2011 which again found that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of PTSD. While a mild anxiety disorder was diagnosed for the first time, the examiner opined that it began many years after service and was not related to service. However, the Veteran testified at the April 2013 hearing that he has been receiving regular psychiatric treatment at the VA PTSD clinic since the June 2011 VA examination, and that he now has a diagnosis of PTSD. He denied receiving any private treatment. These VA records are not in either the claims folder or the electronic record. Furthermore, there is no indication that an attempt has been made to obtain these records. These records must be obtained prior to reaching a decision in either claim. Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following action: (Please note, this appeal has been advanced on the Board's docket pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 20.900(c) (2012). Expedited handling is requested.) 1. Obtain all VA records treatment records regarding treatment of the Veteran's PTSD, anxiety disorder, or any other psychiatric disability dating from June 2011 to the present and associate them with the claims folder. Attempts to obtain these records should continue unless it is verified that they do not exist or that they are otherwise unobtainable, and this should be documented in the claims folder. 2. If, and only if, additional records are obtained that include a diagnosis of PTSD, schedule the Veteran for an additional VA psychiatric examination. The claims folder must be provided to the examiner for use in the study of this case. All indicated tests and studies should be conducted. In regards to the Veteran's claim for PTSD, it must be conceded that he was exposed to a stressor during combat in Korea. After completion of the examination and review of the record, the examiner should express the following opinions: a) Does the Veteran have a current diagnosis of PTSD? If so, is it as likely as not that PTSD was incurred due to the stressors sustained during active service, to include his combat experience? b) Does the Veteran have a current diagnosis of an anxiety disorder? If so, is it as likely as not that the anxiety disorder was incurred due to active service? c) Does the Veteran have a current diagnosis of any other acquired psychiatric disability? If so, is it as likely as not that this disability was incurred due to active service? The reasons and bases for all findings must be provided. If the examiner is unable to express an opinion without resorting to speculation, the reasons and bases for that conclusion should be provided, and any evidence that may be necessary to provide the opinion should be identified. 3. After the development requested above has been completed to the extent possible, the RO should again review the record. If any benefit sought on appeal, for which a notice of disagreement has been filed, remains denied, the Veteran and representative should be furnished a supplemental statement of the case and given the opportunity to respond thereto. 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). _________________________________________________ JOAQUIN AGUAYO-PERELES 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).