Citation Nr: 18140519 Decision Date: 10/03/18 Archive Date: 10/03/18 DOCKET NO. 16-22 996 DATE: October 3, 2018 REMANDED Entitlement to a disability rating in excess of 70 percent for major depressive disorder is remanded. Entitlement to an effective date earlier than January 27, 2014 for the assignment of a 70 percent rating for major depressive disorder is remanded. Entitlement to an effective date earlier than January 27, 2014 for the assignment of a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities (TDIU) is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from August 1975 to September 1975, from February 1985 to March 1988, from September 1989 to February 1990, and from May 1995 to April 1998. This matter comes to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a September 2014 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Veteran initially requested to be provided a personal hearing before the Board, but, in March 2017, the Veteran withdrew his request for a hearing. 1. Entitlement to a disability rating in excess of 70 percent for major depressive disorder is remanded. The Veteran contends that he is entitled to a disability rating in excess of 70 percent. It has been over four years since the Veteran’s last VA examination evaluating the severity of his acquired psychiatric disorder in August 2014. At the August 2014 VA examination, the Veteran denied hallucinations. Subsequent VA treatment records, however, indicate the Veteran has occasional hallucinations. In a February 2, 2015 Psychiatry Note, the Veteran gave a history of hearing voices for the past 7-8 years. Accordingly, it appears that the August 2014 VA examination may ot accurately reflect all psychiatric symptoms. Once VA undertakes to provide the Veteran with a VA examination it must provide the Veteran with an adequate one, and an adequate examination provides a sufficiently detailed description of a disability so that the Board’s evaluation of the claimed disability will be a fully formed one. Barr v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 303 (2007). Therefore, this matter must be remanded for a VA examination. Moreover, the Veteran’s claim for an earlier effective date for a disability rating of 70 percent for major depressive disorder must be remanded for a new VA examination as well, and, as such, this matter is inextricably intertwined with it. Harris v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 180 (1991). 2. Entitlement to an effective date earlier than January 27, 2014 for the assignment of a 70 percent rating for major depressive disorder is remanded. The Veteran contends that he is entitled to an effective date earlier than January 27, 2014 for major depressive disorder. The Veteran first filed for an increased disability rating for an acquired psychiatric disorder on January 27, 2014. An earlier effective date may be granted if it can be demonstrated that it is factually ascertainable that the Veteran’s disability rating increased in severity up to one year earlier than the date of receipt of the claim. 38 C.F.R. § 3.400. The Veteran underwent a VA examination in August 2014, and, based on this examination, the Veteran’s disability rating was increased from 50 percent to 70 percent. Nevertheless, the examination did not indicate whether or not it was factually ascertainable that the Veteran’s disability had increased in severity between January 27, 2013 and January 27, 2014; and, if so, on what date. Once VA undertakes to provide the Veteran with a VA examination it must provide the Veteran with an adequate one, and an adequate examination provides a sufficiently detailed description of a disability so that the Board’s evaluation of the claimed disability will be a fully informed one. See Barr. Therefore, this matter must be remanded for a VA examination. Moreover, it is inextricably intertwined with the above issue. See Harris. 3. Entitlement to an effective date earlier than January 27, 2014 for the assignment of TDIU is remanded. The Veteran contends that he is entitled to an effective date earlier than January 27, 2014 for TDIU. The issue is inextricably intertwined with the above issues. See Harris. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: Arrange to provide the Veteran with a VA examination in order to determine the current severity of the Veteran’s major depressive disorder. The examiner should determine whether it is factually ascertainable that the Veteran’s major depressive disorder increased in severity between January 27, 2013 and January 27, 2014? Why or why not? The examiner should consider the Veteran’s report in a February 2, (CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE) 2015 VA Psychiatry Note that he had been hearing voices for the past 7-8 years. BARBARA B. COPELAND Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD David R. Seaton, Associate Counsel