Citation Nr: 18141500
Decision Date: 10/11/18	Archive Date: 10/10/18

DOCKET NO. 15-40 384
DATE:	October 11, 2018
REMANDED
Entitlement to an evaluation in excess of 50 percent prior to December 29, 2013 and in excess of 70 percent thereafter for bipolar disorder with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND
This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from March 2014 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Winston Salem, NC.  The Veteran was granted an initial rating of 50 percent for bipolar disorder with PTSD effective November 16, 2012.  
In June 2014, the Veteran filed a Notice of Disagreement indicating that her symptoms were more severe than the assigned rating.  In August 2015, a Decision Review Officer increased the Veteran’s rating to 70 percent, effective December 29, 2013.  She is presumed to be seeking higher ratings.  Read liberally, in the substantive appeal (VA Form 9), the Veteran asserts that her disability has worsened since her last VA examination in February 2014.
The Veteran should be provided an opportunity to report for a VA examination to ascertain the current severity and manifestations of her service-connected psychiatric disability.  
This appeal is remanded to enable the scheduling of this examination in light of the assertion of increase in severity.  See 38 U.S.C. § 5103A (d); 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(c)(4).  
Upon remand, the AOJ should also obtain updated VA treatment records. 
The matter is REMANDED for the following action:
1. Obtain any outstanding VA treatment records.
All reasonable attempts should be made to obtain such records.  If any records cannot be obtained after reasonable efforts have been made, issue a formal determination that such records do not exist or that further efforts to obtain such records would be futile, which should be documented in the claims file.  The Veteran must be notified of the attempts made and why further attempts would be futile, and allowed the opportunity to provide such records, as provided in 38 U.S.C. § 5103A (b)(2) and 38 C.F.R. § 3.159 (e).
 
2. After completing directive #1, arrange for the Veteran to undergo an updated VA psychiatric examination to evaluate the current severity of her service-connected psychiatric disability. 

 
Nathaniel J. Doan
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	Yonelle Moore Lee, Associate Counsel