Citation Nr: 20019954 Decision Date: 03/18/20 Archive Date: 03/18/20 DOCKET NO. 15-42 111 DATE: March 18, 2020 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from September 1968 to February 1969. The matter comes to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from an April 2015 rating decision of the Department of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In a September 2018 Decision, the Board denied in part the claims on appeal. The Veteran appealed the September 2018 decision to the United States Courts of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). In an August 2019 Order, the Court granted the parties’ Joint Motion for Remand (JMR). Accordingly, the appeal has been vacated in part and remanded to the Board for action consistent with the JMR. In the August 2019 JMR, the parties agreed that vacatur and remand was necessary because the Board failed to ensure the duty to assist was satisfied by relying on an inadequate medical opinion to deny the claim for service connection. Specifically, the JMR stated that the August 2015 VA opinion is inadequate because the examiner’s rationale does not discuss service connection except to say that the Veteran did not have a diagnosed disability in service. The parties indicated that the examiner should have considered whether the Veteran’s current psychiatric condition is related to the symptoms the Veteran experienced in service. Thus, the parties found that another examination and opinion should be secured and considered. Accordingly, the Board will remand the Veteran’s claim to obtain an examination and opinion that complies with the August 2019 JMR. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Contact the appropriate VA Medical Center and obtain and associate with the claims file all outstanding records of treatment. If any requested records are not available, or the search for any such records otherwise yields negative results, that fact must clearly be documented in the claims file. Efforts to obtain these records must continue until it is determined that they do not exist or that further attempts to obtain them would be futile. The non-existence or unavailability of such records must be verified and this should be documented for the record. Required notice must be provided to the Veteran and his or her representative. 2. After any additional records are associated with the claims file, provide the Veteran with an appropriate examination to determine the etiology of his claimed psychiatric disorders. 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. The examiner must provide an opinion regarding whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent or greater probability) that any currently diagnosed psychiatric disorder had onset in or is otherwise related to active service. The examiner must address the Veteran’s October 2019 lay statement regarding his psychiatric disorders existing prior to his treatment for hypertension. 3. Notify the Veteran that it is his responsibility to report for any scheduled examination and to cooperate in the development of the claims, and that the consequences for failure to report for a VA examination without good cause may include denial of the claims. 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.158, 3.655 (2019). In the event that the Veteran does not report for any scheduled examination, documentation must be obtained which shows that notice scheduling the examination was sent to the last known address. It must also be indicated whether any notice that was sent was returned as undeliverable. Jenna Brant Acting Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board D. Braxton, 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.