Citation Nr: 21065512
Decision Date: 10/26/21	Archive Date: 10/26/21

DOCKET NO. 16-57 583
DATE: October 26, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to a rating in excess of 30 percent for PTSD and major depressive disorder (also claimed as anxiety and panic attacks) from May 20, 2016, until March 6, 2017, and entitlement to a rating in excess of 70 percent for PTSD effective from March 7, 2017, is remanded.

Entitlement to a rating in excess of 30 percent for headaches (claimed as head injury residuals) from May 20, 2016, until March 6, 2017, and entitlement to a rating in excess of 50 percent for headaches from March 7, 2017, is remanded.

Entitlement to individual unemployability is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from August 1984 to August 1989.  

These matters come before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from an October 2016 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

In December 2017, the Regional Office issued a rating decision that increased the Veteran's PTSD to 70 percent disabling effective from March 7, 2017.  The Regional Office also increased the Veteran's headaches to 50 percent disabling effective from March 7, 2017.  

In October 2021, the Veteran withdrew his request for a Board hearing.  

1. Entitlement to a rating in excess of 30 percent for PTSD and major depressive disorder (also claimed as anxiety and panic attacks) from May 20, 2016, until March 6, 2017, and entitlement to a rating in excess of 70 percent for PTSD effective from March 7, 2017 is remanded.

2. Entitlement to a rating in excess of 30 percent for headaches (claimed as head injury residuals) from May 20, 2016, until March 6, 2017, and entitlement to a rating in excess of 50 percent from March 7, 2017, is remanded.

A review of the record indicates that the Veteran received a VA examination for his psychiatric disorder in June 2017 and the Veteran was last examined for his headache disorder in April 2017.  Moreover, the Board notes that the available treatment records are inadequate to properly evaluate the severity of the Veteran's disabilities.  Accordingly, VA's duty to assist includes providing a new medical examination when the available evidence is too old for an adequate evaluation of the current disorder and the disability may have worsened.  Thus, for the above stated reasons, the Board finds a remand is necessary to afford the Veteran contemporaneous examinations to determine the current severity of his disabilities.  See Allday v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 517, 526 (1995) (indicating that, where the record does not adequately reveal the current state of the claimant's disability, fulfillment of the statutory duty to assist requires a contemporaneous medical examination, particularly if there is no additional medical evidence that adequately addresses the level of impairment of the disability since the previous examination).

3. Entitlement to individual unemployability is remanded.

The Veteran's claim for TDIU is intertwined with the issue currently remaining on appeal.  Harris v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 180 (1991) (where a claim is inextricably intertwined with another claim, the claims must be adjudicated together). Therefore, further consideration of the claim for TDIU must be deferred.

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

1. Obtain the Veteran's VA treatment records from December 19, 2017, to the present.  

2. Schedule the Veteran for VA examinations to determine the current severity of his PTSD and headache disorder.  

3. Take all steps necessary to adjudicate the Veteran's claim for TDIU.  

 

 

Michael J. Skaltsounis

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	M. Rescan, 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.