Citation Nr: 18151534
Decision Date: 11/20/18	Archive Date: 11/19/18

DOCKET NO. 16-50 681
DATE:	November 20, 2018
REMANDED
Entitlement to an initial rating in excess of 50 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is remanded.
REASONS FOR REMAND
The appellant served on active duty in the U.S. Army from October 1987 to March 1990.
This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) from a July 2014 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Cleveland, Ohio, which granted service connection for PTSD and assigned an initial 50 percent rating, effective January 10, 2012.  The appellant filed a timely Notice of Disagreement (NOD), received in August 2014.  A Statement of the Case (SOC) was issued in September 2016.  A timely substantive appeal was received in October 2016.
Per a July 2016 psychiatry note, the appellant reported that she was feeling worse and was experiencing ongoing difficulty relating to men, nightmares, and poor sleep.  In the November 2018 informal hearing presentation, the appellant’s representative indicated that the appellant contends that her PTSD symptoms have steadily worsened since her June 2014 VA examination.  
As it appears that the appellant’s PTSD may have increased in severity since her last VA examination, she should be afforded a new examination to determine the current severity of her PTSD.  See Palczewski v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 174, 182 (2007).
The matter is REMANDED for the following action:
1. Associate any outstanding VA medical records with the claims file.
2. Provide the appellant with an examination to determine the current severity of her service-connected PTSD.  Access to the appellant’s VA claims file should be made available to the examiner for review. 
The examiner should report all signs and symptoms necessary for rating the appellant’s PTSD under the General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders.  The examiner should address the level of social and occupational impairment attributable to the appellant’s PTSD.
 
K. Conner
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	R. Behlen, Associate Counsel