Citation Nr: 1802317 Decision Date: 01/11/18 Archive Date: 01/23/18 DOCKET NO. 14-28 958A ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Huntington, West Virginia THE ISSUE Entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder to include posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). REPRESENTATION Veteran represented by: West Virginia Department of Veterans Assistance WITNESSES AT HEARING ON APPEAL Veteran and wife ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD D. M. Donahue Boushehri, Counsel INTRODUCTION The Veteran served on active duty from June 1970 to June 1973. This matter is before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from an October 2009 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Huntington, West Virginia. The Veteran and his wife testified before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge during a videoconference hearing in October 2017. A transcript is included in the claims file. This appeal has been advanced on the Board's docket pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 20.900(c) (2017). 38 U.S.C. § 7107(a)(2) (2012). The appeal is REMANDED to the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ). VA will notify the appellant if further action is required. REMAND Initially, the Board notes that in the Veteran's VA Form 9, the Veteran reported that the Social Security Administration (SSA) requested that he be evaluated for psychological issues. The Board finds a remand is necessary to obtain any outstanding SSA disability records. The Veteran asserts he has PTSD due to stressful situations in service. The May 2014 VA examination report does not indicate a diagnosis of PTSD. However, the Veteran's VA treatment records also include a diagnosis of depressive disorder and PTSD. The May 2014 VA examiner stated the Veteran's depressive symptoms were not caused by or incurred during active service as the symptoms onset in the mid-2000s, and he was not treated for mental health concerns until 2007, 34 years after separation from service. Although the VA examiner stated the Veteran's symptoms did not begin until the mid-2000s, in a June 2008 Vet Center note, the Veteran reported has had depression every day and every night since returning from Vietnam. As the Veteran is competent to describe the onset of his symptoms, the Board finds an additional VA examination with opinion is necessary. 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. Obtain all VA treatment records since April 2016, and any VA facility from which the Veteran has received treatment. 2. Request from the Social Security Administration the records pertinent to the Veteran's claim of entitlement to Social Security disability benefits as well as the medical records relied upon concerning that claim. If the requested records are unavailable, the claims file should be annotated as such and the Veteran and his representative notified of such. 3. After completing directives #1-#2, schedule the Veteran for a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of his claimed acquired psychiatric disorders, to include PTSD and depression. The claims folder must be made available to and be reviewed by the examiner. All tests deemed necessary should be conducted and the results reported in detail. The examiner should identify all current psychiatric disorders found on examination. For PTSD, the examiner must use the diagnostic criteria specified in the DSM-V. For each diagnosed psychiatric disorder, the examiner must provide an opinion as to whether it is at least as likely as not (a 50 percent or greater probability) that any currently diagnosed psychiatric disorder is etiologically related to the Veteran's period of service. If PTSD is diagnosed, the examiner must specify the stressor(s) upon which the diagnosis was based. If the examiner cannot provide the requested opinion without resorting to mere speculation, he or she should provide a complete explanation stating why this is so. In so doing, the examiner should explain whether the inability to provide a more definitive opinion is the result of a need for additional information or that he or she has exhausted the limits of current medical knowledge in providing an answer to that particular question(s). 4. Thereafter, undertake any other indicated development, and then, readjudicate the issue on appeal. If the benefit sought on appeal remains denied, the Veteran and his representative should be provided with a Supplemental Statement of the Case and be afforded a reasonable opportunity to respond. The case should then be returned to the Board for further appellate review, if otherwise 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). _________________________________________________ Nathaniel J. Doan 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) (2016).