Citation Nr: 1552726 Decision Date: 12/17/15 Archive Date: 12/23/15 DOCKET NO. 15-03 896 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in St. Petersburg, Florida THE ISSUE Entitlement to an increased disability rating in excess of 30 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). REPRESENTATION Appellant represented by: Stephen Vaughn, Agent ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD D. Chad Johnson, Associate Counsel INTRODUCTION The Veteran served on active duty from December 1962 to December 1968. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) from an October 2011 decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Louisville, Kentucky. Jurisdiction over the Veteran's claims file was subsequently transferred to the RO in St. Petersburg, Florida, and that RO certified the Veteran's appeal to the Board in March 2015. This appeal has been advanced on the Board's docket pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 20.900(c) (2015). 38 U.S.C.A. § 7107(a)(2) (West 2014). The appeal is REMANDED to the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ). VA will notify the appellant if further action is required. REMAND Although the Board regrets the additional delay, a remand is necessary regarding the Veteran's claim of entitlement to an increased disability rating in excess of 30 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in order to afford him a current VA PTSD examination. VA's duty to assist includes providing a medical examination or obtaining a medical opinion when such an examination or opinion is necessary to make a decision on the claim. 38 U.S.C.A. § 5103A(d). VA is required to conduct an accurate and descriptive medical examination based on the complete medical record. 38 C.F.R. §§ 4.1, 4.2; Green v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 121, 124 (1991) (VA's duty to assist includes "the conduct of a thorough and contemporaneous medical examination, one which takes into account the records of prior medical treatment, so that the evaluation of the claimed disability will be a fully informed one"). Additionally, the United States Court of Appeals for Veteran's Claims (Court) has held that it is within VA's duty to assist to afford the Veteran a new VA examination in order to accurately assess the current level of impairment when there is evidence that the claimed disability has worsened. Snuffer v. Gober, 10 Vet. App. 400, 402-03 (1997). Review of the record reveals that the Veteran was last afforded a VA PTSD examination in June 2011. Subsequently, in March 2012, the Veteran asserted that he reported more severe PTSD symptoms to the VA examiner, including anxiety attacks two to three times per week, impaired short-term memory, severe disturbances in motivation, and difficulty being around groups of people. The Veteran is competent to report his symptoms of PTSD as he experiences them through his senses. Layno v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 465 (1994). Therefore, his statements are afforded due probative weight by the Board. To the extent that his statements of reported symptoms are inconsistent with the June 2011 VA examination report, the Board finds it probative that the examination report also contains other inconsistencies, such as a finding that the Veteran did not have a history of violence/assaultiveness in spite of the Veteran's report that he swung at his neighbor after being threatened for reporting the neighbor to animal control, in addition to a finding that the Veteran had good impulse control without a history of violence despite the Veteran's report of increased anger and irritability when stressed. Based on the above, the Board finds the June 2011 VA examination inadequate for rating the Veteran's PTSD. Additionally, the Veteran's representative has requested a current VA examination, based upon the Veteran's reports of more severe PTSD symptoms and the fact that nearly four and a half years have elapsed since the last VA examination regarding his PTSD. Therefore, the Board concludes a new VA examination is necessary to determine the current severity of his service-connected PTSD disability. See id.; see also Caffrey v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 377 (1994). 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). Expedited handling is requested.) 1. Schedule the Veteran for a VA psychiatric examination to assess the current severity of his PTSD disability. The entire claims file, including this Remand, must be made available to the examiner, and the examiner must indicate review of such records. Any indicated diagnostic tests and studies must be accomplished and all pertinent symptomatology and findings should be reported in detail. Specifically the examination report should contain a detailed account of all manifestations of the Veteran's service-connected PTSD found to be present, as well as proper consideration for the Veteran's reported symptomatology, including anxiety attacks two to three times per week, impaired short term memory, severe disturbances in motivation, and difficulty being around groups of people. A complete rationale for all opinions expressed should be provided. 2. Thereafter, reajudicate the claim on appeal. If any benefit sought remains denied, provide the Veteran and his representative with a supplemental statement of the case (SSOC) and an opportunity to respond. Then, return this matter to the Board for further adjudication, if otherwise in order. (CONTINUED ON THE FOLLOWING PAGE) 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). _________________________________________________ M. TENNER 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) (2015).