Citation Nr: 21071861
Decision Date: 12/01/21	Archive Date: 12/01/21

DOCKET NO. 16-50 189
DATE: December 1, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to a disability rating greater than 50 percent for generalized anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder is remanded.

Entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran had active service in the United States Army from June 1970 to January 1972.

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a November 2014 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA); this case is in VA's legacy appeals system.

In February 2021, the Veteran testified at a Board hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge; a transcript of that hearing is of record.

Entitlement to a disability rating greater than 50 percent for generalized anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder, and entitlement to a TDIU

In June 2021, the Board remanded the issues of entitlement to an increased rating for service-connected generalized anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder and for entitlement to a TDIU for further development.  The June 2021 remand ordered VA to provide a new examination to assess the severity of the Veteran's service-connected generalized anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder and its impact on his ability to function in an occupational environment.  While the order itself referred to PTSD, this is clearly a typo as the Veteran's claim is for an increased rating for generalized anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder and he is not service-connected for PTSD.  The remand order required the Veteran to address specific evidence including a January 2021 private vocational assessment.  Unfortunately, there has not been substantial compliance with the June 2021 Board remand directives.  The record contains a new examination of September 2021 and an addendum opinion by the same examiner.  However, the examiner failed to meaningfully address the January 2021 vocational assessment, instead expressing the opinion that it did not exist and was only a collection of notes by the Veteran's treating therapist, Dr. C.G.  The record contains a vocational assessment dated January 14, 2021 and signed by a vocational rehabilitation consultant who is not Dr. C.G.  The examiner also inexplicably refused to acknowledge that the Veteran's therapist completed a Ph.D., referring to her as "Ms. G[.], LMHC" instead of Dr. C.G.  Another remand is required to obtain an examination and opinion that comply with the Board's previous remand order.  Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268, 271 (1998).

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

1. Schedule the Veteran for an examination by an appropriate clinician to determine the current severity of his service-connected generalized anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder. 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 is also requested to comment on the Veteran's ability to function in an occupational environment and to describe the functional effects of the Veteran's generalized anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder on his employment.  The examiner must address the private and VA clinical records, the March 2020 occupational assessment and the January 2021 private vocational assessment. 

2. Readjudicate the issues on appeal, to include whether referral for extraschedular consideration of TDIU is warranted if the schedular criteria are still not met. 

 

L. M. BARNARD

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	Zimmerman, Micah

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.