Citation Nr: 20046576 Decision Date: 07/13/20 Archive Date: 07/13/20 DOCKET NO. 15-22 492 DATE: July 13, 2020 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from April 1959 to July 1960. In January 2019, he testified before the undersigned at a videoconference hearing. A transcript of that hearing is of record. The Board remanded this appeal in May 2019. Before describing the development needed to help decide the case, the Board acknowledged records of the Veteran’s admission to a neuropsychiatric hospital in April 1960, prior to his discharge from active duty. But according to the June 2014 report of a VA psychologist, who noted the evidence of an in-service mental breakdown, the Veteran did not have any current mental disorder diagnosis. Recognizing the principle that the presence of a disability at the time of the filing of a claim or during its pendency is sufficient to meet the “current disability” requirement for service-connected compensation, even if the disability subsequent resolves, see McClain v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 319, 321 (2007), the Board reviewed all of the post-service VA medical records available at the time of the remand but found no indication of any treatment for any mental illness. In his hearing testimony, however, the Veteran said that he had been experiencing symptoms of heightened anxiety and, according to his representative, he began receiving mental health treatment from his local VA medical center in 2015 or 2016, after the June 2014 examination. Under these circumstances, the Board ordered the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) to obtain copies of all of the Veteran’s VA medical treatment records since March 2014. If these records indicated the presence of a mental illness, the Board instructed the AOJ to obtain a new medical opinion on the probability that any current mental illness had its initial onset in service or was otherwise related to the symptoms the Veteran experienced during his in-service hospitalization in 1960. The AOJ successfully obtained copies of VA medical records from March 2014 to October 2019. According to an outpatient nephrology note, dated March 2018, the clinical impression included “Mood swings with depression and ‘perseveres’ on things. . .” There are substantially identical statements in progress notes from October and December 2017. And a June 2019 preventive medicine note indicated a positive depression screen. Unfortunately, despite having obtained evidence of mental illness symptoms during the pendency of the claim, the AOJ did not obtain the medical opinion required, under these circumstances, by the May 2019 remand orders. When an appeal is remanded, the claimant obtains a right to compliance with the Board’s remand orders. Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998). Although the need for further delay is regrettable, the Board must remand this case to obtain the necessary medical opinion. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain and associate with the claims file copies of all of the Veteran’s VA treatment records since October 2019. 2. Refer the claims file to a qualified professional for the preparation of an opinion on the nature and etiology of any current psychiatric disorder. If the examiner decides that new examination is needed before the requested opinion can be provided, a new examination should be arranged. If the examiner believes that an examination would be useful, but the Veteran indicates that he prefers to discuss his mental illness symptoms with the examiner in a telehealth interview instead of meeting for an in-person examination, then the AOJ should arrange that interview. After completing the records review and, if necessary, the in-person examination or interview, the examiner should identify all current psychiatric disabilities. For each disorder identified, the examiner should indicate whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent probability or greater) that the disability had its onset during active duty service or was caused or aggravated by any in-service disease, injury, or event. The examiner should provide a complete rationale for all opinions provided. In explaining the reasons for his or her opinion, the examiner should address service treatment records indicating that the Veteran was hospitalized for psychiatric reasons in April 1960. The examiner should also discuss post-service VA medical treatment records, including multiple progress notes indicating “Mood swings with depression and ‘perseveres’ on things...” and a positive depression screen in June 2019. 3. The AOJ must ensure that the requested medical opinion complies with the directives of this remand. If   any report is deficient in any way, the AOJ must implement corrective procedures. DAVID L. WIGHT Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board M. Nye, 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.