Citation Nr: 21010215 Decision Date: 02/24/21 Archive Date: 02/24/21 DOCKET NO. 19-27 254 DATE: February 24, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include depression, is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served honorably in the United States Army from May 1970 to September 1970 and from April 1972 to November 1973, with additional service in the Army Reserve and Army National Guard. This matter was previously before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) in September 2019, whereupon the Board denied entitlement to service connection for depression. The Veteran appealed the Board’s decision to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). In September 2020, while the case was pending at the Court, the parties signed a Joint Motion for Remand (JMR) requesting that the Court vacate the Board’s decision. In a subsequent order, the Court granted the JMR. The claim has now been returned to the Board for further consideration. While it is true that the Veteran initially characterized his claimed disability as “depression,” the Board notes that a claim for service connection encompasses all pertinent symptomatology, regardless of how that symptomatology is diagnosed. See Clemons v. Shinseki, 23 Vet. App. 1, 5, 9 (2009). A review of the Veteran’s VA outpatient records shows that he has been treated for major depression and anxiety. As such, the Veteran’s claim has been characterized more broadly as one for an “acquired psychiatric disorder,” as indicated on the title page. Entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include depression The Veteran seeks entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder. The parties agreed in the September 2020 JMR that the Board, in its September 2019 decision, failed to account for an April 1972 Report of Medical History, which indicated that the Veteran experienced “depression or excessive worry” and “loss of memory or amnesia.” The JMR went on to suggest that a VA examination might be necessary in order to properly evaluate the Veteran’s contentions, and to ensure VA’s duty to assist was satisfied. See McClendon v. Nicholson, 20 Vet. App. 79, 81 (2006). Because the record, as discussed above, contains evidence of mental health symptoms in service, as well as evidence of a current acquired psychiatric disorder, the Board finds, pursuant to the instructions laid out in the JMR, that an examination is necessary in this case. Accordingly, a remand is warranted. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain and associate with the record any outstanding VA medical records pertaining to the Veteran, to include records from August 2018 to the present. 2. Schedule the Veteran for an examination with an appropriate clinician to determine the nature and likely etiology of any current acquired psychiatric disorders, to include (but not necessarily limited to) depression. The examiner must opine whether it is at least as likely as not that any acquired psychiatric disorder was incurred or aggravated in service or is otherwise related to service. The examiner should specifically discuss the following: • Any evidence of mental health symptoms documented in the Veteran’s service treatment records, to include an April 1972 Report of Medical History which reflects the Veteran’s reports of “depression or excessive worry” and “loss of memory or amnesia.” • The Veteran’s lay contentions regarding the chronology of his mental health symptoms. The examiner is advised that the Veteran is competent to report symptoms, treatment, events, and injuries in service and that his assertions must be taken into account, along with the other evidence of record, in formulating the requested medical opinion. A. S. CARACCIOLO Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board T. Minot, 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.