Citation Nr: 21008615 Decision Date: 02/17/21 Archive Date: 02/17/21 DOCKET NO. 17-07 633 DATE: February 17, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for a psychiatric disorder is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Army from January 1966 to January 1968, to include foreign service in Germany. This matter is before the Board of Veterans’ Appeal (Board) on appeal from a February 2016 rating decision issued by the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Veteran testified before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge in November 2019. The Board previously remanded the appeal in December 2019 and August 2020. Unfortunately, for the reasons that follow, yet another remand is required in this case. First, in its August 2020 remand, the Board directed that an addendum opinion be obtained to address deficiencies in the record. Among the questions the Board sought an answer to was whether the Veteran suffered from a psychiatric disorder that is superimposed on a diagnosed personality disorder. In an October 2020 opinion, a VA examiner described the difficulty generally in determining the interplay between personality disorders and other psychiatric symptoms, then noted that he could not answer the Board’s question without resorting to mere speculation. Further, after the RO issued its supplemental statement of the case here, the Veteran submitted VA treatment records reflecting that he is now diagnosed with PTSD. Whether that diagnosis meets the criteria of 38 C.F.R. § 3.304 to be considered for rating purposes, and to what stressor that potential diagnosis relates is not clear, as the excerpted records are brief. Thus, in an effort to hopefully resolve the Veteran’s claim, the Board will again remand the issue in order to obtain the Veteran’s VA treatment records and to obtain a new examination. 1. Obtain the Veteran’s complete VA treatment records dated from February 2015 and thereafter and associate them with his claims file. 2. After obtaining the Veteran’s treatment records, schedule him for a VA examination before an examiner who has not previously examined him to determine the nature and possible relationship to service of any diagnosed psychiatric disorder. The examiner is to review the Veteran’s claims file, including a copy of this remand, prior to examining the Veteran. After reviewing the Veteran’s file and conducting all indicated examinations, the examiner is to answer the following questions: a. From what current psychiatric disorders or personality disorders does the Veteran suffer? If your diagnoses differ from those found in the Veteran’s VA treatment records or from previous VA examinations, then provide an explanation for the discrepancy. b. If you find that the Veteran suffers from PTSD, then state to what stressor this diagnosis relates. If you do not find that the Veteran suffers from PTSD, then state what elements of that diagnosis are not present. c. If you find that the Veteran suffers from a psychiatric disorder other than PTSD, then state whether it is at least as likely as not that any such identified disorder had its onset during or is otherwise related to the Veteran’s active service. d. If you find that the Veteran suffers from a personality disorder, state whether it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran’s personality disorder was subject to any diagnosed superimposed psychiatric disorder resulting in additional disability. Evan M. Deichert Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board J.R. Higgins, 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.