Citation Nr: 21068249 Decision Date: 11/09/21 Archive Date: 11/09/21 DOCKET NO. 18-45 411 DATE: November 9, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, to include generalized anxiety disorder, is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Navy from December 1967 to October 1971. The Veteran testified at a Board hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge in July 2021. A transcript of the hearing has been associated with the record. Entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, to include generalized anxiety disorder, is remanded. The Veteran asserts that his current anxiety disorder began in service and has continued to the present. Service treatment records show that the Veteran was treated for anxiety in July 1971, a few months before his discharge from active service. The Veteran has asserted that he began receiving treatment for anxiety post service within one year of his discharge in 1972. Unfortunately, although those records are not available, the Veteran has been consistent in his statements and testimony as to when he began treatment after service. The first post service medical evidence dates to approximately 2002, which showed a history of chronic anxiety. Significantly, private treatment records dated in 2013, a few years before the current claim, observed that the Veteran's anxiety disorder started in service and indicated that he had received treatment for many years. The Veteran was afforded a VA examination in September 2018. The Veteran again reported that he started taking medication for panic attacks in 1972 or 1973. The examiner opined that the Veteran's disorder was less likely than not related to service. The examiner rationalized that besides the July 1971 in-service incident, there are no other military service treatment records showing treatment for an anxiety disorder, such as generalized anxiety disorder, and there are no records of treatment for anxiety within one year of discharge. There is only a brief episode of adjustment disorder, from 12 July through 19 July 1971, 47 years ago. Unfortunately, the Board finds that this rationale is inadequate as the examiner failed to discuss the Veteran's competent statements of pertinent symptomatology since service and the testimony that he began receiving treatment shortly after service in 1972. Again, the Veteran has been consistent in these reports. Likewise, the examiner did not discuss the post-service treatment records showing a history of anxiety disorder for many years prior to 2018. Thus, as it does not appear that the examiner considered all the relevant evidence of record, the Board finds that a new examination is necessary with a different examiner if possible. See Nieves- Rodriguez v. Peake, 22 Vet. App. 295 (2008); Stefl v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 120, 124 (2007) see also Barr v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 303, 311 (2007). Moreover, at the Board hearing, the Veteran testified that he had received private treatment for many years. Although some records have been obtained, the Veteran reported that he received treatment at Westwood Hospital in 2004, and these records do not appear to have been requested. On remand, VA should attempt to obtain authorization and request these records. Likewise, additional VA clincal records from September 2018 to the present should be obtained. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain VA clinical records dated from September 2018 to the present. 2. Ask the Veteran to complete a VA Form 21-4142 for any outstanding treatment records from private facilities, to include Westwood Hospital. Make two requests for the authorized records from any identified facilities, unless it is clear after the first request that a second request would be futile. 3. After completing the above development and all outstanding records have been associated with the electronic record, the Veteran should be afforded an appropriate VA examination conducted by a different examiner, if possible, in order to determine the current nature and etiology of his acquired psychiatric disorder. The record, to include a copy of this Remand, must be made available to and be reviewed by the examiner. Any indicated evaluations, studies, and tests should be conducted. The examiner should offer an opinion as to whether it is at least as likely as not that any psychiatric disorder is related to the Veteran's military service, to include the July 1971 in-service incident of anxiety. A detailed rationale for all opinions expressed should be provided. The examiner must discuss the service treatment, to specifically include the July 1971 in-service records showing treatment for anxiety; post-service treatment records indicating long-standing treatment for his disorder; and the Veteran's lay statements describing his in-service experiences, the onset of his disability, the competent statements concerning receiving treatment in 1972, and continuity of psychiatric symptomatology since service. L. M. BARNARD Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board J.N. Moats 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.