Citation Nr: 21072152
Decision Date: 12/02/21	Archive Date: 12/02/21

DOCKET NO. 17-35 708
DATE: December 2, 2021

REMANDED

Service connection for a psychiatric disorder, including anxiety, bipolar, and substance abuse disorder.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from January 2008 to May 2010.

The case is on appeal from a May 2016 rating decision.

In an April 2019 decision, the Board reopened a previously denied claim and remanded the reopened claim for additional development.

Service connection for a psychiatric disorder, including anxiety, bipolar, and substance abuse disorder.

In April 2020, the AOJ issued a supplemental statement of the case (SSOC) for this issue.  After the AOJ issued the SSOC, additional pertinent medical evidence was added to the claim file in August and September 2021.

In September 2021, the Board notified the Veteran that additional pertinent medical evidence had been associated with the claims file.  On that occasion, the Veteran was notified that he had 45 days to respond to the notice; if no response was received, the Board would remand the claim for AOJ review of the additional medical evidence.

In October 2021, the Veteran responded to the above notification, requesting that his claim be sent back to the AOJ for review of the additional, pertinent medical evidence that had been associated with the claims file after issuance of the April 2020 SSOC.  Thus, the Board will remand the case for initial RO consideration of the additional evidence.

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

Readjudicate the issue on appeal in light of all the additional evidence added to the record since the April 2020 SSOC.  If the benefit sought on appeal is not granted in full,  issue the Veteran and his representative an SSOC.  An appropriate period of time should be allowed for response before the case is returned to the Board.

 

 

RYAN T. KESSEL

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	S. Becton, 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 This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.