Citation Nr: 18153342
Decision Date: 11/27/18	Archive Date: 11/27/18

DOCKET NO. 10-37 980
DATE:	November 27, 2018
REMANDED
Entitlement to service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is remanded.
Entitlement to special monthly pension (SMP) based on aid and attendance or housebound status is remanded.
REASONS FOR REMAND
The Veteran had active service from September 1990 to August 1991.  It appears he also had U.S. Army National Guard (ANG) service. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from October 2009 and October 2012 decisions issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Phoenix, Arizona. The matters were most recently before the Board in June 2017.
Entitlement to service connection for PTSD is remanded.
Unfortunately, there has not been substantial compliance with the Board’s previous remand directives. In June 2017, the Board directed that the Veteran be provided with an examination to determine whether he met the criteria for a diagnosis of PTSD and if so, whether it was related to his miltiary service. An examination was scheduled for June 2017.  The Veteran did not show for the examination.  However, his representative asserts that the record does not contain any letter or other documentation reflecting that the Veteran was properly notified of the scheduled examination. See October 2018 Appellate Brief Presentation.  The Board agrees.  Thus, another remand is required.  Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268, 271 (1998).
Entitlement to SMP based on aid and attendance or housebound status is remanded.
As the adjudication of the issue of service connection for PTSD being remanded for additional development may impact adjudication of the Veteran’s SMP claim, the Board finds that these claims are inextricably intertwined. See Harris v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 180, 183 (1991) (holding that two issues are inextricably intertwined when they are so closely tied together that a final Board decision on one issue cannot be rendered until the other issue has been considered). Thus, adjudication of the Veteran’s claim of entitlement to SMP based on aid and attendance or housebound status must be deferred.
The matters are REMANDED for the following action:
1. Schedule the Veteran for a psychiatric examination to determine the nature and etiology of any PTSD.  If the Veteran is diagnosed with PTSD, the examiner must explain how the diagnostic criteria are met and opine whether it is at least as likely as not related to a verified in-service stressor.  



2. If the benefits sought on appeal are not granted, the Veteran and his representative should be furnished with a supplemental statement of the case (SSOC) and afforded a reasonable opportunity to respond before the record is returned to the Board for further review.

 
E. I. VELEZ
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	K. L. Wallin, Counsel