Citation Nr: 18129151
Decision Date: 08/23/18	Archive Date: 08/23/18

DOCKET NO. 15-45 235
DATE:	August 23, 2018
REMANDED
Entitlement to a disability rating in excess of 50 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is remanded.
REASONS FOR REMAND
The Veteran served on active duty from April 1969 to April 1971.
This matter is before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a July 2015 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Houston, Texas.
Entitlement to a disability rating in excess of 50 percent for PTSD.
The last VA examination the Veteran had to evaluate his PTSD was in June 2015.  In December 2015, after that examination, in his VA Form 9, the Veteran wrote that he had extreme memory problems and got extremely irritable with his family.  He wrote that he was no longer living with his wife.  In the July 2018 Informal Hearing Presentation, the Veteran’s representative wrote that the Veteran’s symptoms had increased since the last VA examination.  As a result, a new VA examination is necessary to determine the current nature, extent, and severity of the Veteran’s service-connected PTSD.  38 C.F.R. § 3.159(c)(4).

The matter is REMANDED for the following actions:
1. In accordance with the provisions of 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(c)(1), make efforts to obtain all VA and private treatment records concerning this claim.
2. Afford the Veteran a VA mental health examination, with a psychologist or psychiatrist, to ascertain the current severity and manifestations of his PTSD.  The claims file must be reviewed by the examiner.  The most up-to-date Disability Benefits Questionnaire must be employed, and all opinions and conclusions must be supported by a rationale.
 
A.	C. MACKENZIE
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	J. Abrams, Associate Counsel