Citation Nr: 1801080	
Decision Date: 01/09/18    Archive Date: 01/19/18

DOCKET NO.  14-19 903A	)	DATE
	)
	)

On appeal from the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Portland, Oregon


THE ISSUE

Entitlement to an initial disability rating in excess of 50 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).


REPRESENTATION

Veteran represented by:	Oregon Department of Veterans' Affairs


WITNESSES AT HEARING ON APPEAL

The Veteran and spouse


ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD

M. Harrigan Smith, Counsel


INTRODUCTION

The Veteran served on active duty from July 1967 to April 1970.

These matters come before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a September 2011 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Portland, Oregon, which granted entitlement to service connection for PTSD, effective at a 50 percent disability rating, effective August 5, 2010.  

The Veteran testified at a hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge in January 2017.  

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


REMAND

The Veteran has contended that his service-connected PTSD has worsened since his last VA examination was provided in September 2013.  When a claimant asserts, or the evidence shows, that the severity of a disability has increased since the most recent rating examination, an additional examination is appropriate.  VAOPGCPREC 11-95 (April 7, 1995); Snuffer v. Gober, 10 Vet. App. 400 (1997).  As such, the Board finds that remand is necessary for a VA examination to determine the current nature and severity of his service-connected PTSD.

Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following action:

1.  Schedule the Veteran for a VA mental health examination to determine the current severity of his PTSD and its effect on his social and occupational functioning.  The examiner should indicate all symptomatology associated with the Veteran's psychiatric disability and indicate the impact of such on his social and occupational functioning.

2.  Readjudicate the issues on appeal.  If any benefit on appeal remains denied, issue a supplemental statement of the case.  Thereafter, the case should be returned to the Board, if in order.

The Veteran has the right to submit additional evidence and argument on the matter or matters 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. HYLAND
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) (2017).