Citation Nr: 20039979 Decision Date: 06/11/20 Archive Date: 06/11/20 DOCKET NO. 16-35 584A DATE: June 11, 2020 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, other than posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from February 1971 to February 1974 and August 1974 to September 1976. This matter is before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from an April 2014 rating decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In December 2018, the Veteran appeared at a Travel Board hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge. A transcript of the hearing has been associated with the record. After the hearing, the Veteran submitted additional evidence which has been included in the record for consideration. 38 U.S.C. § 7105(e) (2012). In July 2019, and March 2020, the Board remanded the claim for further evidentiary development.   Entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, other than PTSD, is remanded. In the March 2020 Board remand, the Board instructed that the Veteran be provided a VA examination in order to determine the nature, extent, and etiology of any acquired psychiatric disorder, other than PTSD. The Veteran was scheduled for a VA examination and, according to the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ), the Veteran cancelled the VA examination. However, in a letter received in April 2020, the Veteran’s attorney asserted that the Veteran did not cancel or no show for the VA examination. Rather, his attorney indicated that the AOJ did due to the Coronavirus pandemic. He also indicated that the Veteran had preexisting conditions that would make it difficult for him to attend an in-person examination due to current pandemic precautions. The Board concludes that the Veteran has presented good cause for his failure to attend the VA examination due to precautions associated with the current Coronavirus pandemic. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.655. As such, remand is warranted for a new examination, or if an in-person examination is not feasible due to the pandemic, a telehealth interview to assess the nature and etiology of the Veteran’s acquired psychiatric disorder. The matters are REMANDED for the following actions: 1. Obtain and associate with the claims file VA treatment records from February 2020 to the present. 2. After completing the development above, schedule the Veteran for an appropriate VA examination, including via telehealth interview, if an in-person examination is not feasible, to determine the nature, extent, and etiology of any acquired psychiatric disorder, other than PTSD. The entire claims file should be made available to the examiner in conjunction with this request. All tests deemed necessary, including psychological testing, should be performed and all findings should be reported in detail. The examiner should answer the following questions: (a.) The examiner should clearly identify all current chronic acquired psychiatric disorder(s), other than PTSD, that have existed since February 2013. (b.) For any psychiatric diagnosis(es) other than PTSD, is it at least as likely as not (a 50 percent probability or greater) that such psychiatric disorder(s) began in service or is otherwise related to a disease, event or injury in service, including the in-service anxiety reflected in the Veteran’s STRs or the Veteran’s assignment to funeral detail? A complete rationale for all opinions must be provided. If the clinician cannot provide a requested opinion without resorting to speculation, it must be so stated, and the clinician must provide the reasons why an opinion would require speculation. The clinician must indicate whether there was any further need for information or testing necessary to make a determination. Additionally, the clinician must indicate whether any opinion could not   be rendered due to limitations of knowledge in the medical community at large and not those of the particular examiner. M. SORISIO Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board S. Patel, 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.