Citation Nr: 21022364
Decision Date: 04/15/21	Archive Date: 04/15/21

DOCKET NO. 15-37 184
DATE: April 15, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to an evaluation in excess of 70 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is remanded.

Entitlement to a finding of total disability based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities (TDIU) is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Navy from May 1968 to September 1971. These matters come before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a May 2015 rating decision by the Lincoln, Nebraska Regional Office (RO) of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. 

In a June 2019 decision, the Board granted the Veteran’s claim for entitlement to an increased rating for PTSD and assigned a 70 percent disability evaluation but did not consider the applicability of the Veteran’s entitlement to TDIU.  The Veteran subsequently appealed the June 2019 Board decision to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court).  In April 2020, pursuant to a Joint Motion for Partial Remand (JMPR), the Court left undisturbed the award of the 70 percent rating but remanded the issues of whether the Veteran is entitled to an evaluation in excess of 70 percent for PTSD and remanded the issue of the Veteran’s eligibility to TDIU pursuant to Rice v. Shinseki, 22 Vet. App. 447 (2009).  

The JMPR further found that the Board erred in finding its duty to assist satisfied when it did failed to obtain current treatment records since October 2015 and failed to schedule the Veteran for a contemporaneous VA PTSD examination in light of evidence of the worsening of the Veteran’s condition since his last VA PTSD examination in April 2015. On remand the Veteran should be scheduled for a VA PTSD examination and updated medical records must be obtained.

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

1. Associate with the claims file updated VA treatment records since October 2015.  

2. Schedule the Veteran for a VA PTSD review examination; the claims folder must be reviewed in conjunction with the examination.  The examiner should describe the current status of PTSD, and should, for the period of time since May 2014, describe the impact of PTSD symptomatology on the Veteran’s ability to perform work-related tasks or in a work-related environment.

3. Then, readjudicate the remanded issues.  If the benefits sought remain denied, the Veteran and his representative should be provided with a supplemental statement of the case.  The case should then be returned to the Board for appellate review if otherwise in order.

 

 

WILLIAM H. DONNELLY

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	Margaret M. Lunger

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.