Citation Nr: 21003696 Decision Date: 01/22/21 Archive Date: 01/22/21 DOCKET NO. 19-00 044 DATE: January 22, 2021 REMANDED A non-initial increased rating greater than 50 percent for service-connected posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (previously rated as depressive disorder) is remanded. REFERRED The Veteran requested an audit of his payments in a July 2020 statement; this is referred to the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) for processing. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran honorably served in on active duty from November 1976 to November 1979. This matter is before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from an August 2017 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Veteran timely filed his Notice of Disagreement (NOD) in November 2017 and perfected his appeal by timely filing a VA Form 9 in December 2018. The Veteran testified before a Decision Review Officer (DRO) in August 2018. A transcript of the hearing is of record. This issue was denied by the Board in an August 2019 Board decision. The Veteran appealed that decision to the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court), which vacated the decision pursuant to an April 2020 Joint Motion for Remand. 1. A non-initial increased rating greater than 50 percent for service-connected posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (previously rated as depressive disorder) is remanded. After the remand from the Court, the Veteran submitted a statement and requested that the Board remand his case to the AOJ for review of his additional evidence. See July 2020 Correspondence. Accordingly, the Board will remand the Veteran’s claim for AOJ review of his statement. The Board also finds that further development of the record is necessary to meet VA’s duty to assist the Veteran in developing evidence to substantiate his claim. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.159. Notably, there are several medical treatment records that are scanned into this VA Health record, but which are not associated with his benefits claims file record. Further, the Veteran stated in August 2018 that he was anticipating soon resuming psychiatric treatment after his treatment provider left and there are no such records in the file. VA treatment and VA authorized non-VA treatment records must be obtained before final adjudication these issues, regardless of relevance. See Sullivan v. McDonald, 815 F.3d; 786, 790-91 (Fed. Cir. 2016); Turner v. Shulkin, 29 Vet. App. 207, 210 ; see also Jones v. Wilkie, 918 F.3d 922, 926-27 (Fed. Cir. 2019). A remand is required to allow VA to obtain them. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Please note that, by law, ALL remanded claims must be processed expeditiously. 2. Obtain and associate with the record the Veteran’s VA treatment records from September 2018 to the present. 3. Obtain and associate with the record the Veteran’s non-VA treatment records scanned into his VHA treatment file, but which are not of record in his claims file. The following dates have been identified by the Board, but additional scanned records may be evidenced as a result of the development ordered under directive 2 above: *November 9, 2017 *September 7, 2017 *December 30, 2015 *September 20, 2015 *August 23, 2015 4. If upon completion of the above action the issues remain denied, the case should be returned to the Board after compliance with appellate procedures (i.e., issuance of a supplemental statement of the case). VICTORIA MOSHIASHWILI Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board S. Lambert 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.