Citation Nr: 20022472 Decision Date: 04/01/20 Archive Date: 04/01/20 DOCKET NO. 19-32 474A DATE: April 1, 2020 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for anxiety is granted. REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for a spine disorder is remanded. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran’s current anxiety disorder had its onset in service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for anxiety disorder are met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Navy from August 1964 to July 1966. The rating decision on appeal was issued in August 2018. In November 2019, in response to the August 2018 rating decision and August 2019 Statement of the Case, the Veteran attempted to opt into the Appeals Modernization Act (AMA) review system by electing the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) hearing lane. The Veteran’s election for AMA review was untimely, and in a March 2020 letter the Board advised the Veteran that the Veteran did not validly opt-in to AMA. Under the circumstances, the Veteran, his representative and the undersigned Veterans Law Judge agreed that the Veteran’s 10182 would be accepted as Substantive Appeal and that the Board would waive the timeliness requirement. The Veteran presented sworn testimony at a hearing before the undersigned in March 2020. The issue of entitlement to service connection for PTSD and broken neck have been recharacterized as service connection of anxiety and spine disorders, respectively, in accordance with Clemons v. Shinseki, 23 Vet. App. 1 (2009). Entitlement to service connection for anxiety is granted. The Board finds that service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, diagnosed as anxiety, is warranted. Following an August 2019 VA examination, a psychologist explained that the Veteran does not have PTSD, but rather anxiety, which the examiner related the Veteran’s military service. The Board finds that the examiner’s opinion is highly probative as it is consistent with a longstanding history of documented anxiety. See Service treatment record (February 21, 1968) (showing that the Veteran reported a history of depression of excessive worry); VA treatment record (July 19, 2019) (showing that the Veteran reported anxiety since service). Finally, the competent and credible testimony of the Veteran further establishes that his psychological symptoms had their onset during service and have been recurrent since that time. See Layno v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 465 (1994). Thus, as all three elements necessary to establish service connection have been met, service connection for anxiety disorder is warranted. See 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.303, 3.304(f); see also Cohen v. Brown, 10 Vet. App. 128 (1997). Furthermore, at the hearing the Veteran indicated that a grant of service connection for a psychiatric disability, regardless of the diagnosis, would satisfy the appeal. Accordingly, the instant decision represents a total grant of benefits as to the issue on appeal. REASONS FOR REMAND Entitlement to service connection for a spine disorder is remanded. The Board finds that VA examination is needed to clarify the nature, onset and etiology of the Veteran’s claimed spinal disorder, to include whether such is secondary to his service-connected psychiatric disorder. Specifically, the Board seeks an opinion to address the Veteran’s assertion that his service-connected anxiety was productive of alcohol abuse, which led to a motor vehicle accident that caused his current spinal disorder. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: Schedule the Veteran for an examination by an appropriate clinician to determine the nature and etiology of any current spine disorder. The examiner must opine as to whether it is at least as likely as not related to an in-service injury, event, or disease. The examiner is also to opine as to whether it is at least as likely as not that any current spine disability is caused or aggravated by the Veteran’s service-connected anxiety disorder. The examiner must address the Veteran’s report that he used alcohol to self-medicate his service-connected psychiatric disability. The examiner must opine as to whether it is at least as likely as not that his service-connected anxiety manifested was productive of alcohol abuse, and if so, whether it resulted in a motor vehicle accident that caused his current spinal disorder. The examiner is also to address the August 2018 VA psychologist’s opinion that the Veteran’s “anxiety and increased distress that resulted in a 15-year period of substance use.” STEVEN D. REISS Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Joshua R. Castillo, 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.