Citation Nr: 1536419	
Decision Date: 08/25/15    Archive Date: 08/31/15

DOCKET NO.  12-28 252	)	DATE
	)
	)

On appeal from the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Houston, Texas


THE ISSUE

Entitlement to an increased rating for psychotic disorder and mood disorder, currently rated as 50 percent disabling.


REPRESENTATION

Appellant represented by:	Texas Veterans Commission


WITNESS AT HEARING ON APPEAL

Appellant


ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD

Kate Sosna, Associate Counsel

INTRODUCTION

The Veteran served on active duty from September 1980 to December 1982.

This appeal comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) from a January 2009 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO).  

In January and March 2015 the Board remanded the issue on appeal for a Board hearing.  In June 2015, the Veteran testified at a Board hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge.  A transcript of that hearing is of record.

The appeal is REMANDED to the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ).  VA will notify the appellant if further action is required.


REMAND

While further delay is regrettable, the Board finds that additional development is necessary.

The Veteran was last afforded an examination for his service-connected psychiatric disorder in December 2008.  Subsequently, during his June 2015 hearing, the Veteran reported that the symptoms of his disability had worsened since that examination.  Given the fact that there are no relevant contemporaneous medical records to document the current severity of the Veteran's psychological disorder, and that it has been over six years since the Veteran was last examined, the Board finds that remand for a new VA examination is warranted.  Caffrey v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 377 (1994); Snuffer v. Gober, 10 Vet. App. 400 (1997). 

Relevant ongoing medical records should also be requested.  38 U.S.C.A. § 5103A(c) (West 2014).

Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following actions:
1. Associate updated VA treatment records dating since August 2012 with the claims file.

2. After the above has been completed to the extent possible, schedule the Veteran for a VA mental disorders examination to assess the current severity of his service-connected psychotic and mood disorder.  The claims file should be reviewed by the examiner.  Any tests deemed necessary should be conducted, and all clinical findings should be reported in detail.  The examiner should indicate the impact of the disorder on the Veteran's occupational and social functioning.

3. After undertaking the development above, the Veteran's claim should be readjudicated.  If the benefit sought on appeal remains denied, the appellant and his representative should be furnished a supplemental statement of the case and be given an appropriate period to respond thereto before the case is returned to the Board, if in order.

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 2014).


_________________________________________________
K. A. BANFIELD
Veterans Law Judge, Board of Veterans' Appeals

Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (West 2014), 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) (2014).