Citation Nr: 21065563 Decision Date: 10/26/21 Archive Date: 10/26/21 DOCKET NO. 19-32 638A DATE: October 26, 2021 ORDER New and material evidence having been submitted, the claim of service connection for an acquired psychiatric condition, to include posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), is reopened. REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric condition, to include PTSD, is remanded. FINDING OF FACT 1. The August 2013 rating decision denying service connection for PTSD was not appealed and became final. 2. Evidence received since the August 2013 rating decision relates to unestablished facts necessary to substantiate the claim of entitlement to service connection for PTSD. CONCLUSION OF LAW New and material evidence having been received, the criteria to reopen the claim of entitlement to service connection for acquired psychiatric condition, to include PTSD, have been met. 38 U.S.C. § 5108; 38 C.F.R. § 3.156(a). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION The Veteran had honorable active service in the United States Navy from March 1992 to March 1994. His period of service from June 1995 to January 1997 has been determined to be other than honorable. The issue comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from an October 2017 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Veteran testified at a hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge in June 2021. A transcript of the hearing has been included with the record. New and material evidence having been submitted, the claim of service connection for acquired psychiatric condition, to include PTSD, is reopened. A claimant may reopen a finally adjudicated claim by submitting new and material evidence. 38 U.S.C. §§ 5108, 7103, 7104, 7105; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.156, 20.1100. New evidence means existing evidence not previously submitted to agency decision makers. Material evidence means existing evidence that, by itself or when considered with previous evidence of record, relates to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim. New and material evidence does not need to address each previously unproven element of a claim in order to justify reopening a finally adjudicated claim. Shade v. Shinseki, 24 Vet. App. 110, 120 (2010). In June 2021, the Veteran submitted a lay statement from a friend who knew the Veteran while in service in 1992. The Veteran's friend's statement reports that the Veteran called her, while in service, after the Veteran witnessed the recovery of a dead body. The Veteran's friend noted the Veteran was upset by this experience. Moreover, the Veteran's friend noted a change in the Veteran's behavior since that incident in 1992. The June 2021 lay statement was not associated with the Veteran's claims file prior to the October 2017 rating decision. This evidence relates to an unestablished fact, credible supporting evidence that the claimed in-service stressor occurred, necessary to substantiate the Veteran's claim. 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.156(a), 3.304(f). The Board finds the low threshold for reopening a claim of service connection has been met. See Shade, 24 Vet. App. at 120. The Veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD, is reopened. REASONS FOR REMAND Entitlement to service connection for acquired psychiatric condition, to include PTSD, is remanded. Service connection for PTSD requires medical evidence of a diagnosis of PTSD conforming to the requirements of section 4.125(a); a causal link, established by medical evidence, between current symptoms and an in-service stressor; and credible supporting evidence that the claimed in-service stressor occurred. 38 C.F.R. § 3.304(f); see also 38 C.F.R. § 4.125(a); Cohen v. Brown, 10 Vet. App. 128, 138 (1997). Further, credible supporting evidence of the actual occurrence of an in-service stressor cannot consist solely of after-the-fact medical nexus evidence. Moreau v. Brown, 9 Vet. App. 389, 394-96 (1996). The Board finds that further development is required to corroborate the Veteran's claimed in-service stressor. The Veteran asserted that his PTSD was related to the non-combat-related event of witnessing the recovery of a dead body while serving aboard the U.S.S. Shiloh in 1992. Notably, the Veteran reported that upon arrival on his first day at his permanent duty station in San Diego, California, he witnessed members of the United States Coast Guard recover the body of a service member from the water off the pier. The RO attempted to verify the Veteran's claim with the Bureau of Naval Personnel, Casualty Assistance Division. Additionally, the RO requested command history and deck logs for the U.S.S. Shiloh from July and August 1992. The Defense Personnel Records Information Retrieval System (DPRIS) response noted the U.S.S. Shiloh arrived in San Diego in September 1992 but did not document a body being recovered in the water under the pier. At the June 2021 Board hearing, the Veteran's representative asserted the RO's efforts to verify the Veteran's claimed stressor event were inadequate. The Veteran's representative contended the deck logs of the Coast Guard ships leading the recovery operation would provide evidence to verify the Veteran's claimed traumatic stressor event. The Board finds further development is required to verify the Veteran's claimed stressors. The Veteran submitted lay evidence noting the Veteran discussed with his friend that he witnessed the recovery of a dead body while in service in 1992. Additionally, the Veteran's friend's lay statement reported a noticeable change in the Veteran's behavior following the claimed traumatic incident. Accordingly, remand is required to attempt to establish credible supporting evidence that the claimed in-service stressor actually occurred, using United States Coast Guard deck logs from the Southern California Operation Area for the month of September 1992. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: Attempt to verify the Veteran's PTSD stressor event using United States Coast Guard records from the Southern California Operation Area. Specifically, the Veteran stated that he witnessed United States Coast Guard service members recover a dead body from the water around the U.S.S. Shiloh while in San Diego, California in September 1992. If multiple requests are required to obtain all the information sought, they should be made. All requests and responses received from each contacted entity should be associated with the claims file. If more details are needed, contact the Veteran to request the information. JENNIFER HWA Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board A.V. Bona, 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.