Citation Nr: 20023934
Decision Date: 04/07/20	Archive Date: 04/07/20

DOCKET NO. 17-15 104
DATE: April 7, 2020

REMANDED

Entitlement to a disability rating in excess of 30 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran had active service in the U.S. Navy from November 1966 to August 1970. 

In January 2019, the Board denied the Veteran’s claim for a disability rating in excess of 30 percent for his service-connected PTSD. The Veteran appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (“CAVC” or “the Court”). In September 2019, the Court issued an order that vacated the Board decision and remanded the claim for compliance with a Joint Motion for Remand (JMR).

If a veteran claims a disability is worse than when originally rated, VA must provide a new examination when the available evidence is too old to adequately evaluate the current state of the condition. See Olsen v. Principi, 3 Vet. App. 480, 482 (1992). 

The Board’s January 2019 denial discredited the Veteran’s lay statements that his PTSD had worsened since his last examination, which was in June 2014. Accordingly, in compliance with the JMR, the Veteran is entitled to a new VA examination to assess the current severity of his condition. 

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

1. Obtain any outstanding treatment records and associate them with the record. 

2. After completing the foregoing development to the extent possible, arrange to have the Veteran scheduled for a VA mental disorders examination to assess the current severity of his PTSD. 

The examiner should provide a full description of the Veteran’s associated functional impairments as they relate to the relevant rating criteria. 

 

 

DELYVONNE M. WHITEHEAD

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	C. Ferrando

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 This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.