Citation Nr: 21070387
Decision Date: 11/23/21	Archive Date: 11/23/21

DOCKET NO. 17-59 001A
DATE: November 23, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to an evaluation in excess of 30 percent prior to November 9, 2016, and 70 percent thereafter, for PTSD is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from June 1986 to September 1992 and from January 2003 to June 2003. The Veteran had additional National Guard and Reserve service.  

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a January 2016 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). 

This issue has a long and extensive procedural history. Most recently, in October 2020, the Board incorrectly dismissed the Appellant's claim for entitlement to an increased rating for PTSD. Thereafter, the Appellant appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). In an August 2021 Joint Motion for Remand (JMR), the parties moved the Court to vacate the October 2020 Board decision with respect to the issues pertaining to an increased rating for PTSD. 

Although the Board sincerely regrets the additional delay, a remand is again necessary to ensure that due process is followed and that there is a complete record upon which to decide the Veteran's claim so that he is afforded every possible consideration. 38 U.S.C. § 5103A; 38 C.F.R. § 3.159.

1. Entitlement to an evaluation in excess of 30 percent prior to November 9, 2016, and 70 percent thereafter, for PTSD is remanded.

The Veteran contends that he is entitled to at least a 50 percent rating prior to November 9, 2016, and a 100 percent rating thereafter. Specifically, the Veteran contends that the 70 percent rating should have been effective back to his original grant of service connection for PTSD in 2011 as he has been continuously pursuing the claim. 

The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for PTSD must be remanded for a new examination as the previous examination is out of date. When available evidence is too old for an adequate evaluation of the Veteran's current disability, VA's duty to assist includes providing a more current examination. Weggenmann v. Brown, 5 Vet. App. 281 (1993). In that regard, the Board notes that the Veteran's most recent psychiatric examination is from November 2016, and that this examination is too old for an adequate, current evaluation of the Veteran's PTSD. He has asserted that his symptoms have worsened since this examination. Accordingly, this case must be remanded so that a new VA examination may be obtained. 

Thus, considering such allegations, the Board finds that the Veteran should be afforded a new VA examination. See 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.326, 3.327; Snuffer v. Gober, 10 Vet. App. 400, 403 (1997).

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

Schedule the Veteran for an examination by an appropriate clinician to determine the current severity of his service-connected PTSD with depression.  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 disorder alone.

 

 

L. M. BARNARD

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	M.D. Taylor, 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.