Citation Nr: 21074806
Decision Date: 12/16/21	Archive Date: 12/16/21

DOCKET NO. 15-05 707
DATE: December 16, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to service connection for a recurrent eating disability is remanded.	  

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran had active service from May 2000 to June 2003.  

In February 2020, the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) denied service connection for an eating disability.  The Veteran subsequently appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court).

In February 2021, the Court granted the Parties' Joint Motion for Remand; vacated the February 2020 Board decision; and remanded the appeal to the Board for action consistent with the Joint Motion for Remand.  

Entitlement to service connection for a recurrent eating disorder is remanded.

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) clinical documentation dated August 2014 reflects that the Veteran was diagnosed with a binge-eating disorder.  

The Parties' February 2021 Joint Motion for Remand determined that the August 2019 VA psychiatric examination report is inadequate for rating purposes and the Veteran should be afforded further VA examination.  The Board has no discretion and must remand the appeal for compliance with the Court's February 2021 Order granting the Joint Motion for Partial Remand. Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998); Forcier v. Nicholson, 19 Vet. App. 414 (2006).

Clinical documentation dated after April 2020 is not of record.  VA should obtain all relevant VA and private treatment records which could potentially be helpful in resolving the Veteran's claim.  Murphy v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 78 (1990); Bell v. Derwinski, 2 Vet. App. 611 (1992).

Accordingly, this matter is REMANDED for the following action:

1. Ask the Veteran to complete a VA Form 21-4142 for each private healthcare provider who has treated her for any recurrent eating disability.  Make two requests for the authorized records from all identified healthcare providers unless it is clear after the first request that a second request would be futile. 

2.  Associate with the record all VA clinical documentation not already of record, including that pertaining to the Veteran's treatment after February 2020.

3. Schedule the Veteran for a VA eating disability examination conducted by an appropriate psychiatric or medical professional to assist in determining the nature of any identified recurrent eating disability and any relationship to active service.  The examiner must review the record and should note that review in the report. A rationale for all opinions should be provided. The examiner should:

(a)  Diagnose all eating disabilities found.

(b)  Opine whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent probability or greater) that any identified recurrent eating disability had its onset during active service or are related to any incident of service, including the Veteran's reported in-service binge eating and military sexual trauma.  

(c)  Opine whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent probability or greater) that any identified recurrent eating disability is due to or the result of PTSD and the other service connected disabilities.

(d)  Opine whether it at least as likely as not (50 percent probability or greater) that any identified recurrent eating disability has been aggravated (increased in severity beyond the natural progression of the disorder) by PTSD and the other service connected disabilities.  

 

 

J. T. HUTCHESON

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	H. Marsdale

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.