Citation Nr: 21069659 Decision Date: 11/19/21 Archive Date: 11/19/21 DOCKET NO. 18-29 854 DATE: November 19, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to a disability rating in excess of 70 percent for service-connected post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from March 1966 to January 1969 and from September 1981 to July 1992. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on an appeal from a March 2017 rating decision by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Veteran attended a hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge (VLJ) in August 2021, and a transcript of the hearing has been associated with the claims file. Entitlement to a disability rating in excess of 70 percent for service-connected PTSD is remanded. The Veteran's service-connected PTSD is currently rated at 70 percent disabling and he is seeking a 100 percent rating for his PTSD. The Veteran testified that he sought mental health treatment at a Vet Center and at a VA facility in California and that he last saw a mental health professional in 2020. A January 2017 letter indicates that the Veteran received treatment from the Gardena CBOC Mental Health Clinic since July 2016. An April 2018 letter also indicates that the Veteran received treatment at the Los Angeles (Gardena) Vet Center since February 2018. The most recent VA treatment records in the claims file are from February 2017. Therefore, a remand is necessary for the RO to obtain and associate any outstanding treatment records from VA facilities or from any Vet Center. Additionally, the Veteran and his wife testified that his psychiatric disability caused him to be disoriented at times. The Veteran last underwent a VA examination for this disability in January 2017. As the Veteran has testified that his symptoms have become more severe since his last VA examination, an additional examination is appropriate. See Caffrey v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 377 (1995). The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain the Veteran's treatment records from any Vet Center identified by the Veteran, to include the Los Angeles Vet Center. 2. Obtain the Veteran's VA treatment records from any VA medical facility identified by the Veteran, to include the Gardena CBOC. 3. Schedule the Veteran for an examination by an appropriate clinician to determine the current severity of his service-connected psychiatric disability. The examiner should provide a full description of the disability and report all signs and symptoms necessary for evaluating the Veteran's disability under the rating criteria. The examiner must attempt to elicit information regarding the severity, frequency, and duration of symptoms. To the extent possible, the examiner should identify any symptoms and social and occupational impairment due to his service-connected psychiatric disability alone. J. B. FREEMAN Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board A. Boal, 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.