Citation Nr: 18143428 Decision Date: 10/23/18 Archive Date: 10/19/18 DOCKET NO. 16-34 878 DATE: October 23, 2018 REMANDED The issue of entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include anxiety, is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran, who is the appellant in this case, served on active duty from June 1977 to July 1981. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a rating decision dated November 2015 of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Newark, New Jersey. The Board has broadened the Veteran’s claim for service-connection to include consideration of any currently diagnosed acquired psychiatric disorder. Clemons v. Shinseki, 23 Vet. App. 1, 5 (2009). The Board finds that a remand is necessary to provide the Veteran with a VA examination for his service connection claim on appeal. The Veteran asserts that his currently diagnosed mental illness is related to depression he experienced during service, which was caused by demotions and unfair treatment by superiors. See e.g. April 2016 Notice of Disagreement. To date, the Veteran has not been afforded a VA examination in response to this claim. VA must provide a medical examination or obtain a medical opinion when there is (1) competent evidence of a current disability or persistent or recurrent symptoms of a disability, (2) evidence establishing that an event, injury, or disease occurred in service, or establishing that certain diseases manifested during an applicable presumptive period for which the claimant qualifies, and (3) an indication that the disability or persistent or recurrent symptoms of a disability may be associated with the veteran’s service or with another service-connected disability, but (4) there is insufficient competent medical evidence on file to allow VA to adjudicate the claim. McLendon v. Nicholson, 20 Vet. App. 79 (2006); see also 38 U.S.C. § 5103A (d)(2) (2012); 38 C.F.R. § 3.159 (c)(4)(i) (2017). Evidence of “an indication” that the claimed disability “may be” associated with the in-service injury, is a low threshold. McLendon, 20 Vet. App. at 83. Here, the Veteran’s post-service VA treatment records reflect currently diagnosed psychiatric disorders, including anxiety disorder and bipolar disorder, with the earliest diagnosis in 2007. See e.g. VA treatment records dated December 28, 2007 and March 16, 2015. Additionally, treatment records show that the Veteran attributes his mental illness, in part, to unfair treatment by superiors during service and punishment for unauthorized absences. See VA mental health notes dated December 28, 2007 and May 14, 2015. Notably, service treatment records (STRs) dated May 1978 reflect that the Veteran became hysterical upon being returned to his ship under force following an unauthorized absence. A shipboard physician noted that the Veteran had been demoted the previous day, and recommended a mental health evaluation to determine the need for emergency mental health intervention. It was noted that the Veteran was suffering from emotional exogenous depression, and the assessment was situational reaction. See Clinical Record dated May 12, 1978. The STRs include no further references to the Veteran’s mental health. Thus, the record includes competent evidence of a current psychiatric disability, evidence establishing that an event and/or injury occurred in service, an indication that the disabilities or symptoms thereof may be associated with the Veteran’s service, and insufficient competent medical evidence on file to allow VA to adjudicate the claim. McLendon, supra. Accordingly, a remand to obtain a medical examination and opinion is necessary to ensure that the Board’s evaluation of the Veteran’s claim is a fully informed one. The matter is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Advise the Veteran of alternative sources of information that may be used to corroborate his report of unfair treatment by his superiors in service and fellow shipmates. 2. Ensure that all outstanding VA treatment records are associated with the claims file. 3. Then, schedule the Veteran for a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of any currently diagnosed psychiatric disorder. The claims file, and a copy of this remand, should be made available to the examiner for his or her review. After reviewing the claims file and conducting an examination, the examiner is asked to respond, with complete rationale, to the following: (a) Indicate all psychiatric disorders currently shown since the date of the claim, to include anxiety and bipolar disorder. (b) Provide an opinion as to whether each psychiatric disorder currently shown is at least as likely as not (50 percent or greater probability) a result of the Veteran’s military service. *In doing so, address the May 1978 STRs and the Veteran’s report of unfair treatment by his superiors and fellow shipmates. See July 2016 VA Form 9. (c) Indicate whether a psychosis was shown within the first post-service year. (d) If the Veteran has a personality disorder, provide an opinion as to whether it was subjected to a superimposed disease or injury in service that resulting in a current acquired psychiatric disorder. 4. Thereafter, readjudicate the claim on appeal. S. B. MAYS Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD Brad Farrell, Associate Counsel