Citation Nr: 1337244	
Decision Date: 11/15/13    Archive Date: 11/26/13

DOCKET NO.  10-46 974	)	DATE
	)
	)

On appeal from the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Hartford, Connecticut


THE ISSUE

Entitlement to an initial rating in excess of 30 percent for service-connected anxiety disorder, previously diagnosed as adjustment disorder.


REPRESENTATION

Veteran represented by:	Connecticut Department of Veterans Affairs


WITNESS AT HEARING ON APPEAL

The Veteran 


ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD

K. M. Schaefer, Counsel

INTRODUCTION

The Veteran served on active duty from May 1983 to August 1988 and from April 2004 to March 2005. 

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (BVA or Board) on appeal from a rating decision issued in August 2006 by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Hartford, Connecticut, which granted entitlement to service connection for adjustment disorder and assigned an initial 10 percent rating, effective March 16, 2005.  In a March 2008 Decision Review Officer decision, an increased rating of 30 percent was assigned, effective March 16, 2005.  However, as this rating is still less than the maximum benefit available, the appeal is still pending.  AB v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 35, 38 (1993).  A May 2010 rating decision continued the 30 percent rating, but recharacterized the disability as anxiety disorder. 

In November 2011, the Veteran testified at a hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge, via videoconference.  A transcript of the hearing is associated with the claims file.  

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 is asking for a rating in excess of 30 percent for his service-connected anxiety disorder.  The Veteran's most recent VA examination was conducted in April 2010.  At his hearing, he testified that his disability had gotten worse since that examination.  Generally, when a claimant asserts that the severity of a disability has increased since the most recent rating examination, an additional examination is appropriate.  Snuffer v. Gober, 10 Vet. App. 400 (1997); Caffrey v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 377 (1994).  Accordingly, the Board determines that the appeal must be remanded so that another VA examination may be scheduled to assess the nature and severity of the Veteran's service-connected anxiety disorder.

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. Schedule the Veteran for a VA psychiatric examination to assess the current nature and severity of his service-connected anxiety disorder.  The claims file must be made available to the examiner, and the examination report must reflect that such review occurred.  All tests and studies deemed necessary must be performed.  All pertinent symptomatology and findings should be reported in detail.    

2. Notify the Veteran that it is his responsibility to report for the examination and to cooperate in the development of the claim.  The consequences for failure to report for any VA examination without good cause may include denial of his claim.  See 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.158, 3.655 (2013).

3. After completing the above development, and any other development deemed necessary, readjudicate the issue on appeal.  If the benefit sought remains denied, provide a supplemental statement of the case to the Veteran and his representative, and return the appeal to the Board for appellate review, after the Veteran has had an adequate opportunity to respond.

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).



_________________________________________________
DENNIS F. CHIAPPETTA
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).