Citation Nr: 1323481 Decision Date: 07/23/13 Archive Date: 08/01/13 DOCKET NO. 08-36 952 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in St. Petersburg, Florida THE ISSUES 1. Entitlement to an initial disability rating in excess of 30 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 2. Entitlement to a total disability rating based on unemployability due to PTSD and headaches. REPRESENTATION Appellant represented by: Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD D. Havelka, Counsel INTRODUCTION The Veteran served on active duty from December 1986 to November 1991. This case came before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from November and December 2007 Decision Review Officer decisions by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Jurisdiction over the case was ultimately transferred to the RO in St. Petersburg, Florida. During the pendency of the appeal, the Veteran was granted the maximum schedular rating for headaches, 50 percent, from the effective date of service connection. Therefore, the issue of entitlement to a higher schedular rating for headaches is no longer on appeal. When this case was before the Board in August 2012, it was decided in part and remanded in part. The record before the Board consists of the Veteran's paper claims files and an electronic file known as Virtual VA. REMAND The Veteran claims that he is unemployable due to his service-connected headaches and PTSD. In a June 2008 statement, the Veteran reported that one week after he collapsed at work with migraines and back spasms he was fired from his job of two years. He asserted that it will be next to impossible for him to find a job that will allow him to work from home and make enough money to provide for his family. In his June 2008 notice of disagreement, he claimed he has had a nearly impossible time trying to socialize with friends and especially at work. He stated his situation was so bad that his work let him work remotely from home 10 to 15 hours per week. He asserted that he was recently fired and his PTSD would not allow him to work typical hours or conduct himself professionally in a normal work environment. The Board these claims in August 2012 for further development, to include development to obtain pertinent treatment records. While the case was in remand status, VA treatment records dated through April 30 2013 were added to Virtual. These records indicate that as of April 2013, the Veteran was applying for inpatient psychiatric treatment for his service-connected PTSD. These records also indicate that VA Vet Center records related to treatment of the Veteran may exist. It must be determined whether the Veteran was admitted for inpatient psychiatric treatment for his service-connected PTSD; if so records of that treatment must be obtained along with any outstanding Vet Center records. Records from the Social Security Administration (SSA) have been obtained on a CD ROM. Review of this evidence indicates that SSA disability benefits have been awarded based upon his service-connected PTSD disability. Therefore, the SSA records should be printed and associated with the claims files or associated with Virtual VA. During the pendency of the appeal, the Veteran has moved several times. He has resided in Wisconsin, The Virgin Islands, and presently Florida. However, the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs is still identified as his representative. As the Veteran resides in a different state, the originating agency should determine whether he desires to appoint a new representative. Accordingly, this case is REMANDED to the RO or the Appeals Management Center (AMC), in Washington, D.C., for the following actions: 1. Contact the Veteran and request him to clarify his desires as to representation. Provide him the appropriate documents for him to change representation should he desire. 2. Undertake appropriate development to obtain a copy of any outstanding records pertaining to treatment or evaluation of the Veteran's PTSD and/or headaches during the period of the claims, to include any Vet Center records, records of any inpatient VA psychiatric care, and any VA outpatient records for the period since April 2013. 3. Ensure that copies of the SSA records contained on the CD ROM (including the SSA decision and any medical evidence which is not already of record) are placed in the paper claims files or Virtual VA. 4. Undertake any other development determined to be warranted. 5. Then, readjudicate the issues on appeal. If the benefits sought on appeal are not granted to the Veteran's satisfaction, he and his representative should be furnished a supplemental statement of the case and given the requisite opportunity to respond. Thereafter, the case should be returned to the Board for further appellate action. By this remand, the Board intimates no opinion as to any final outcome warranted. The Veteran need take no action until he is otherwise notified, but he may furnish additional evidence and/or argument during the appropriate time frame. See Kutscherousky v. West, 12 Vet. App. 369 (1999). This REMAND must be afforded expeditious treatment. The law requires that all claims that are remanded by the Board or the Court 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). _________________________________________________ Shane A. Durkin 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).