Citation Nr: 21063609 Decision Date: 10/14/21 Archive Date: 10/14/21 DOCKET NO. 17-48 241 DATE: October 14, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served in the Army National Guard with a period of active duty from May 2009 to April 2010. He was deployed to Kuwait and Iraq. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a March 2016 rating decision by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Board previously remanded this matter in March 2019 for further development. Unfortunately, the post-remand record fails to demonstrate that the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) has the correct mailing address for the Veteran. There was an October 2019 development letter that was returned undeliverable, and the record seems to contain two different addresses for the Veteran. Consequently, the AOJ should undertake any action necessary to confirm the Veteran's current mailing address and sufficiently document that in the claims file. Based on issues with the Veteran's mailing address, it cannot be said that the Veteran received proper notice to provide additional evidence of treatment records or his examination and thus remand is required. However, the Board reminds the Veteran that he is expected to attend the scheduled examination or give proper notice in the event of cancellation. If the Veteran fails to attend his rescheduled examination, his claim will be decided based on the evidence of record. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.655. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Undertake any action necessary to confirm the Veteran's current mailing address and document confirmation of the correct mailing address in the claims file. 2. After completion of directive No. 1, resend the Veteran a copy of the October 2019 development letter and afford him a reasonable opportunity to identify all outstanding treatment records relevant to his psychiatric disorder. All identified VA records, which are not already of record, should be added to the claims file. All other properly identified records should be obtained if the necessary authorization to obtain the records is provided by the Veteran. If any records are not available, or the Veteran identifies sources of treatment but does not provide authorization to obtain records, appropriate action should be taken (see 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(c)-(e)), to include notifying the Veteran of the unavailability of the records 3. After completion of directive No. 1 and 2, schedule the Veteran for a VA psychiatric examination to determine the nature of any current psychiatric disorder, and to obtain an opinion as to whether such is related to service. The examiner should elicit a full history from the Veteran and consider the lay statements of record. The Veteran is competent to attest to factual matters of which he has first-hand knowledge, and if there is a medical basis to support or doubt the history provided by the Veteran the examiner should provide a fully reasoned explanation. Following review of the claims file and examination of the Veteran, the examiner should provide an opinion as to whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent probability or greater) that any current psychiatric disorder is related to an in-service injury, event, or disease. The examiner is requested to review the diagnoses of PTSD contained in the VA treatment records and comment on whether the diagnoses of PTSD is supported by the record, including the Veteran's reported stressors. If PTSD is diagnosed, the examiner should list all traumatic events contributing to that diagnosis. A rationale for all opinions expressed should be provided as the Board is precluded from making any medical findings. (Continued on the next page) 4. The Veteran is to be notified that it is his responsibility to report for the examination and to cooperate in the development of the claim. The consequences for failure to report for a VA examination without good cause may include denial of the claim. 38 C.F.R. § 3.655. In the event that the Veteran does not report for the aforementioned examination, documentation must be added to the record documenting that the notice scheduling the examination was sent to the mailing address ascertained after completion of directive No. 1. T. MAINELLI Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board AD 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.