Citation Nr: 18158989
Decision Date: 12/19/18	Archive Date: 12/18/18

DOCKET NO. 16-59 894
DATE:	December 19, 2018
REMANDED
Entitlement to a rating in excess of 70 percent for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with depression is remanded.
REASONS FOR REMAND
The Veteran served on active duty from August 1966 to August 1968. This case comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a September 2014 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office.
1. Entitlement to a rating in excess of 70 percent for post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is remanded.
A remand is necessary to determine the current severity of the Veteran’s PTSD. The Veteran was last provided a VA examination in connection with his condition in September 2015. The 2015 examination noted that the Veteran’s PTSD was significantly more impairing than described in his previous C&P, however it did not specifically indicate that a rating in excess of 70 percent was warranted. 
The Veteran provided a written statement in his VA Form 9, dated December 2016, asserting in pertinent part that his condition causes him gross impairment in thought process and communication during normal conversation, constant and persistent delusions of his surroundings, grossly inappropriate behavior and persistent danger of hurting himself. Additionally, the Veteran’s wife provided a written statement, dated November 2016, stating that he has persistent trouble sleeping, becomes easily agitated over minor things and acts paranoid and constantly on guard throughout the day. 
While the passage of time alone is not sufficient to warrant a new examination, it has been held that when a claimant asserts, or the evidence shows, that the severity of a disability has increased since the most recent rating examination, an additional examination is appropriate. VAOPGCPREC 11-95 (April 7, 1995); Snuffer v. Gober, 10 Vet. App. 400 (1997). Thus, given that three years have passed since the Veteran’s most recent examination and both he and his wife have provided credible statements about the increased severity of his condition a remand is necessary to determine if a rating in excess of 70 percent is warranted.
The matter is REMANDED for the following action:
2.  Obtain any updated VA treatment records of the Veteran and associate them with the claims file. 
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2.  After any additional records are associated with the claims file, provide the Veteran with an appropriate examination to determine the severity of the service-connected PTSD. The entire claims file must be made available to and be reviewed by the examiner. Any indicated tests and studies must be accomplished and all clinical findings must be reported in detail and correlated to a specific diagnosis. An explanation for all opinions expressed must be provided.
 
K. J. Alibrando
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	M. Luby, Associate Counsel