Citation Nr: 18142498
Decision Date: 10/16/18	Archive Date: 10/16/18

DOCKET NO. 16-35 070
DATE:	October 16, 2018
REMANDED
Entitlement to an initial rating in excess of 30 percent for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include insomnia and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
REASONS FOR REMAND
The Veteran, who is the appellant in this case, served on active duty from May 2003 to June 2008, including service in the Persian Gulf Theater.
This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a rating decision dated June 2011 of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Decatur, Georgia.
The issue of entitlement to an initial rating in excess of 30 percent for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include insomnia and PTSD, is remanded.
Some language of the November 2016 SSOC is sufficiently contradictory that the Board cannot conclude that the SSOC represents a fair RO adjudication of the Veteran’s claim.  First, although the Veteran has been granted a 30 percent rating for the entire period on appeal, the SSOC identifies the issue as entitlement to an increased rating “in excess of 50 percent.  See SSOC dated November 16, 2016 at pg. 1.  Second, after acknowledging that the August 2016 VA examiner determined that the Veteran’s symptoms no longer meet the criteria for a diagnosis of PTSD, the RO concludes that the Veteran’s disability most closely approximates the criteria for a “noncompensable” rating.  Id. at pg. 2.
The Veteran is entitled to an SSOC that accurately addresses his claim pursuant to 38 U.S.C. § 7105(d)(1) and 38 C.F.R. §§ 19.26, 19.29, 19.30, and 19.31.  The Board has no discretion to circumvent the aforementioned statutory and regulatory provisions.  Hence, for due process reasons, the claim must be remanded for issuance of an SSOC that accurately addresses the Veteran’s claim for an increased rating in excess of 30 percent.  Manlincon v. West, 12 Vet. App. 238, 240 (1999).
The matters are REMANDED for the following action:
1. Ensure that all outstanding VA treatment records are associated with the claims file.
2. Thereafter, readjudicate the claim on appeal.  If the benefits sought on appeal are not granted, provide the Veteran with an SSOC, accurately addressing the Veteran’s claim for an increased rating in excess of 30 percent.  Afford the Veteran the appropriate time period within which to respond.
 
S. B. MAYS
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	Brad Farrell, Associate Counsel