Citation Nr: 21006657 Decision Date: 02/04/21 Archive Date: 02/04/21 DOCKET NO. 18-00 462 DATE: February 4, 2021 ORDER New and material evidence has been received to reopen the claim of entitlement to service connection for schizophrenia; the appeal is granted to this extent only. REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, to include schizophrenia, is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for a skin disability is remanded. Entitlement to a 10 percent rating based on multiple, noncompensable, service-connected disabilities prior to February 11, 2015 is remanded. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The Veteran did not appeal the December 2010 rating decision that denied service connection for schizophrenia; this decision became final. 2. Additional evidence received since the final December 2010 rating decision is neither cumulative nor redundant of the evidence previously of record and raises a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim for service connection for schizophrenia. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. The December 2010 rating decision denying the Veteran’s claim of entitlement to service connection for schizophrenia is final. 38 U.S.C. § 7105; 38 C.F.R. §§ 20.302, 20.1103. 2. New and material evidence has been received to reopen the claim of entitlement to service connection for schizophrenia. 38 U.S.C. § 5108; 38 C.F.R. § 3.156. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran served on active duty in the United Marine Corps from July 1973 to September 1977. These matters come before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a December 2014 rating decision by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Columbia, South Carolina. In May 2020, the Veteran testified before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge. A transcript of the hearing is associated with the claims file. New and Material Evidence In general, a determination of the RO that is not appealed within one year becomes a final decision, which may only be reopened with a showing of new and material evidence. 38 U.S.C. §§ 5108, 7105. New evidence is evidence not previously submitted to agency decision makers. Material evidence is evidence that, by itself or when considered with previous evidence of record, relates to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim. New and material evidence can be neither cumulative nor redundant of the evidence of record at the time of the last final denial of the claim sought to be reopened and must raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim. 38 C.F.R. § 3.156(a). The Board must review all evidence submitted by or on behalf of a claimant since the last final denial on any basis to determine whether a claim must be reopened. Evans v. Brown, 9 Vet. App. 273 (1996). For purposes of determining whether new evidence is material, the credibility of the new evidence is presumed. Justus v. Principi, 3 Vet. App. 510 (1992). New and material evidence is not required as to each previously unproven element of a claim. Shade v. Shinseki, 24 Vet. App. 110 (2010). For the purpose of determining whether new and material evidence has been presented to reopen a claim, the evidence for consideration is that which has been presented or secured since the last time the claim was finally disallowed on any basis. Evans v. Brown, 9 Vet. App. 273, 285 (1996). The Veteran’s claim of entitlement to service connection for schizophrenia was denied in a December 2010 rating decision. The claim for service connection for schizophrenia was originally denied in a November 1981 rating decision. In the December 2010 rating decision, the RO reopened the claim and denied on the merits. The Veteran did not appeal the November 1981 rating decision, and no evidence was received within one year of the decision. 38 C.F.R. § 3.3156(b)-(c). Accordingly, the December 2010 rating decision became final. See U.S.C. § 7105; 38 C.F.R. §§ 20.302, 20.1103. The Board finds that there is a sufficient evidentiary basis to reopen the claim for service connection for schizophrenia. The evidence submitted after this decision became final, to include credible testimony, relates to a current disability and continuity since separation from service, and as such, is new and material evidence sufficient to reopen the claim. Accordingly, as new and material evidence has been received, the Board finds that the claim for service connection for schizophrenia is reopened. 38 U.S.C. § 5108; 38 C.F.R. § 3.156(a). REASONS FOR REMAND 1. Entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder is remanded. The Veteran contends that his schizophrenia is due to in-service stressors. The Veteran testified that he was hospitalized in the late 1970’s for psychosis. He reported that he was hospitalized for psychosis in 1979. See October 1989 VA examination. The record indicates subsequent hospitalization in 1981, 1983, and 1984 through 1985 for delusion, hallucinations and paranoid ideation. See March 1981 to 1985 SSA records. He testified that symptoms have continued since service. See May 2020 Hearing Transcript. A claim for service connection for a psychiatric disorder encompasses all pertinent symptomatology, regardless of how that symptomatology is diagnosed. Clemons v. Shinseki, 23 Vet. App. 1 (2009). The Board will broaden the claim under Clemons, to consider whether service connection is warranted for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include schizophrenia. The Board regrets the further delay but finds that a remand is necessary in this appeal to afford the Veteran full consideration of his claim. The Veteran testified that he was hospitalized in approximately 1979. A duty to assist attaches to this claim to obtain a medical examination with opinion following further development of the claim. Such development includes a request for private and VA treatment records from 1970 to 1980 and for personnel records. After available records are associated with the claims file, an examiner should evaluate the Veteran and opine on whether his psychiatric disorder is related to service. The examiner should also consider and address whether any in-service psychological developments manifested within one year following service and continued since service. 2. Entitlement to service connection for a skin disability. The Veteran contends that his skin disability is related to service. August 1973 show reports of blisters on the Veteran’s toes. June 1974 STRs show complaints of heat rash on his neck and upper chest. May 1977 STRs shows dermatological treatment for condyloma. August 2013 VA dermatologist consultation shows a diagnosis of skin cancer, also described as melanoma. However, the record does not reflect that the Veteran has undergone an examination to determine the nature and etiology of his skin disability. Accordingly, the Board finds that a duty to assist attaches to this claim to afford the Veteran full consideration by first obtaining a VA examination with medical opinion. The examiner should review the record and opine on whether the Veteran’s skin disability is related to service, to include complaints and treatment for skin conditions in 1973, 1974, and 1977. 3. Entitlement to a 10 percent rating based on multiple, noncompensable, service-connected disabilities prior to February 11, 2015 is remanded. The Veteran contends that prior to February 11, 2015, his noncompensable service-connected disabilities warrant a rating of at least 10 percent. The Board finds, however, that it cannot move forward on the merits of this claim as the issue of compensation is inextricably intertwined with the remanded claims. Accordingly, the matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain the Veteran’s military personnel records and associate them with the claims file. 2. Obtain updated/outstanding VA treatment records, to include those from 1970 to 1980. 3. Request private treatment records from 1970 to 1980, based on testimony regarding hospitalization. 4. Upon completion of directives #1 to #3, schedule the Veteran for an examination with an appropriate medical professional to determine the nature and etiology of his psychiatric disorder(s). The examiner should perform a full review of the record and then opine on the following: a) What are the Veteran’s psychiatric diagnoses? b) Is it at least as likely as not (50 percent or greater probability) that his psychiatric disorder is related to service? If PTSD is diagnosed, please discuss the stressor(s) upon which the diagnosis is based. 5. Upon completion of directives #1 to #3, schedule the Veteran for an examination with an appropriate clinician to determine the nature and etiology of his skin disability, to include melanoma. The examiner should perform a full review of the record and then opine on the following: Is it at least as likely as not (50 percent or greater probability) that the Veteran’s skin disability is related to service, to include skin conditions noted in August 1973, June 1974, and May 1977 STRs? Nathaniel J. Doan Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board K. Wilson, 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.