Citation Nr: 19156294 Decision Date: 07/22/19 Archive Date: 07/22/19 DOCKET NO. 16-25 326 DATE: July 22, 2019 REMANDED Entitlement to a rating in excess of 50 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served honorably in the United States Army from January 2002 to March 2002 and again from February 2003 to February 2007. This case comes before the Board of Veterans Appeals (the Board) on appeal from a May 2014 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) regional office (RO). The Veteran participated in a hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge (VLJ) in July 2019. This remand is the product of the One-Touch Program, produced prior to the association of transcript with the claims file. The Veteran is not prejudiced by this action as no final or adverse action is being taken at this time. 1. Entitlement to a rating in excess of 50 percent for PTSD is remanded. The Veteran is currently rated at 50 percent for PTSD effective February 2013. He contends that a higher rating is more appropriate, as his condition has continued to worsen. An April 2014 Compensation and Pension (C&P) Examination noted PTSD symptoms of depressed mood, anxiety, chronic sleep impairment, mild memory loss, flatted affect, and disturbances of motivation and mood. During a September 2015 C&P Examination, the Veteran was found to have occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity. Stressors included experiences as a tower guard seeing mortars and rockets, witnessing explosions, feeling hunkered up and tight during convoys, and arriving on the scene of bomb explosions to sights of wounded people and dead bodies. PTSD symptoms were noted to include depressed mood, anxiety, chronic sleep impairment, mild memory loss, flattened affect, and disturbances of motivation and mood. The Veteran and his wife state that he spends most of his time on the couch, does not sleep often or well, and dislikes baths and showers because he feels particularly vulnerable in those situations. His wife reports that he has no appetite and does not go to dinner with the family or attend his children’s events. The Veteran’s wife and mother both submitted lay statements noting that the Veteran was not the same person upon leaving the Army and asserting that he has continued to get worse. The Board notes the Veteran and his family contend his condition has worsened. The most recent VA examination regarding his PTSD is the September 2015 C&P Examination. As this examination was nearly four years ago, and the Veteran asserts his condition has continued to worsen since that time, a new examination is required to ascertain the current severity of the Veteran’s PTSD. McLendon v. Nicholson, 20 Vet. App. 79 (2006). The matter is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain any outstanding VA or private treatment records and associate them with the Veteran’s claims file. Any negative response received should be associated with the file. 2. Thereafter, arrange for a VA examination and opinion to address the current nature and severity of the Veteran’s service-connected PTSD. The examiner must document the current symptomatology described by the Veteran and the severity, frequency, and duration at which such symptoms manifest. Any testing deemed necessary must be performed. The examiner is asked to identify the symptoms and any impairments that result from the Veteran’s service-connected PTSD and discuss their functional effects. The claims file must be made available to and reviewed by the examiner. All indicated tests and studies must be undertaken. The examiner must explain the rationale for all opinions rendered, citing to supporting factual data and/or medical literature, as appropriate. Caroline Fleming Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD A. Stuedemann, Associate Counsel The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential, and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.