Citation Nr: 18160147
Decision Date: 12/26/18	Archive Date: 12/26/18

DOCKET NO. 16-12 436
DATE:	December 26, 2018
REMANDED
Entitlement to an initial disability rating greater than 30 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is remanded.
REASONS FOR REMAND
The Veteran served on active duty from February 1966 to February 1969.
The Board recognizes that when a request for a total disability rating due to individual unemployability (TDIU) is made during the pendency of an increased rating claim, whether expressly raised by a veteran or reasonably raised by the record, it is not a separate claim for benefits; rather, it is an attempt to obtain an appropriate rating for a disability as part of the initial adjudication of the claim.  Rice v. Shinseki, 22 Vet. App. 447, 453-454 (2009).  Here, at no point during the appeal period has the Veteran contended that his service-connected PTSD has rendered him unemployable; nor does the evidence of record raise this issue. Thus, the Board declines to infer a TDIU claim under Rice.  
The appeal is remanded to afford the Veteran procedural due process.  In October 2018 correspondence, the Board requested a waiver of Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) review of pertinent evidence received after the September 2016 Supplemental Statement of the Case (SSOC), including a July 2017 VA examination and VA outpatient treatment records. In his October 2018 response, the Veteran expressly requested a remand for the AOJ to review this evidence. Therefore, a remand is required for the AOJ to issue another SSOC.
Moreover, the record references outstanding private treatment records by Dr. C.K. with Spectrum Health Medical Group.  See May 2016 brief.  As this appeal must be remanded for the issuance of an SSOC, the AOJ should invite the Veteran to submit a release required to request treatment records from this provider.  Finally, the AOJ also should associate all updated VA outpatient treatment records with the claims file.
The matter is REMANDED for the following action:
1. Obtain the Veteran’s VA treatment records from the Battle Creek, MI VA Medical Center and all associated outpatient clinics, to include the Wyoming, MI Health Care Center, from June 2017 to the present.
2. After obtaining the necessary release from the Veteran, request all private treatment records from Dr. C.K. with Spectrum Health Medical Group from September 2014 to the present. If these records reference additional, relevant care, then attempt to obtain records of that care as well.
Document all requests and any negative responses.  If any records are unavailable, then notify the Veteran and his representative.
3. Then, only after completing all development requested above to the extent possible, consider whether another VA mental disorder / PTSD examination is warranted (i.e., if any additional medical records suggest possible worsening of the Veteran’s service-connected PTSD since the July 2017 VA examination). 
4. After completing the above and any other development deemed necessary, readjudicate the claim.  If the benefits sought on appeal are not granted to the Veteran’s satisfaction, issue an SSOC that expressly considers all evidence obtained since the September 2016 SSOC.
 
MICHELLE L. KANE
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	R. Janofsky, Associate Counsel