Citation Nr: 1322160 Decision Date: 07/11/13 Archive Date: 07/18/13 DOCKET NO. 09-47 193 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Sioux Falls, South Dakota THE ISSUE Entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder. REPRESENTATION Veteran represented by: Disabled American Veterans ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD A-L Evans, Associate Counsel INTRODUCTION The Veteran had active service from June 1979 to December 1987, from January 1991 to May 1991 and from August 2003 to April 2004. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a January 2009 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The Board has recharacterized the Veteran's service connection claim for PTSD, as reflected on the title page, in light of Clemons v. Shinseki, 23 Vet. App. 1 (2009) (holding that claims for service connection specifically for a psychiatric disability of PTSD encompass claims for service connection for all psychiatric disabilities; an appellant generally is not competent to diagnose his mental condition, he is only competent to identify and explain the symptoms that he observes and experiences). 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 Although the Veteran has sought to establish service connection for PTSD, the evidence shows his current psychiatric illness has been variously diagnosed. His service treatment records show he was seen in 1986 for complaints of increased situational difficulties for 4 months, and assigned an Axis I diagnosis of adjustment disorder with depressed mood. A medical opinion should be obtained to ascertain whether these in-service complaints represent an early manifestation of a current psychiatric disability. In addition, 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. Notify the Veteran that he may submit lay statements from himself, as well as from individuals, such as friends and/or family members, who have first-hand knowledge of the onset and/or chronicity of his psychiatric symptoms. He should be provided an appropriate amount of time to submit this lay evidence. 2. Associate with the claims file any VA record of the Veteran's psychiatric treatment dated since 2008. If the Veteran identifies any non-VA psychiatric treatment he received during the course of the claim development, attempt to obtain records of that treatment as well. 3. After associating any pertinent outstanding records with the claims folder, afford the Veteran a VA psychiatric examination. The claims folder should be made available and reviewed by the examiner. The examiner should identify all psychiatric pathology present, conducting any indicated tests and studies. Based on a review of the evidence contained in the claims file, the examiner should opine as to whether it is at least as likely as not that any currently identified psychiatric disorder had its onset during service; or is otherwise etiologically related to the Veteran's service. In answering this question, the examiner should discuss whether the Veteran's February 1986 in-service evaluation and diagnosis of adjustment disorder with depressed mood reflects an earlier manifestation of any current psychiatric disorder. The examiner should provide a complete, fully-reasoned rationale that includes a discussion of the pertinent evidence in the claims file and medical principles used in forming the opinion. If the examiner is unable to offer an opinion without resort to speculation, a rationale for the conclusion that an opinion could not be provided without resort to speculation should be provided, together with a statement as to whether there is additional evidence that could enable an opinion to be provided or whether the inability to provide the opinion is based on the limits of medical knowledge. 4. After completion of the above development, the Veteran's claim should be readjudicated. If the claim remains denied, the Veteran and his representative should be provided with a Supplemental Statement of the Case. An appropriate period of time should be allowed for response. 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. 2012). _________________________________________________ MICHAEL E. KILCOYNE 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).