Citation Nr: 21028966
Decision Date: 05/12/21	Archive Date: 05/12/21

DOCKET NO. 14-06 750
DATE: May 12, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to a disability rating in excess of 30 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from August 1967 to November 1968.

This case comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal of a July 2012 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. 

Entitlement to a disability rating in excess of 30 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is remanded.

In January 2019, the Board issued a decision that denied a higher rating for the Veteran's PTSD. In an order dated December 18, 2020, the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court) granted a Joint Motion (Joint Motion) for Remand, which vacated the January 2019 Board decision.

In the Joint Motion, the parties asserted that the Board's decision was inadequate because it failed to properly address favorable evidence. More specifically, the Board did not discuss whether January 2018 mental health treatment notes which reported the Veteran's endorsement of self-harm and "passive fleeting suicidal thoughts on occasion when reflecting on his life struggles" and thoughts that he would be better off dead was indicative of more severe PTSD symptoms warranting a higher rating.

The Veteran was last afforded a VA examination and VA treatment records were last sought in February 2018. The Veteran should be provided an opportunity to report for a VA examination to ascertain the current severity and manifestations of his PTSD. Additionally, VA treatment records are considered potentially relevant to the issue on appeal. 

A new examination and additional treatment records may better inform the Board as to the Veteran's overall disability picture.

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

1. Obtain any outstanding VA treatment records and private treatment records that the Veteran authorizes for release.

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2. Schedule the Veteran for an examination by an appropriate clinician to determine the current severity of his service-connected PTSD. The examiner should provide a full description of the disability and report all signs and symptoms necessary for evaluating the Veteran's disability under the rating criteria. The examiner must attempt to elicit information regarding the severity, frequency, and duration of symptoms. To the extent possible, the examiner should identify any symptoms and social and occupational impairment due to PTSD alone.

3. Then readjudicate the claim remaining on appeal. If any of the benefits sought are not granted in full, furnish the Veteran and his representative with a supplemental statement of the case and an opportunity to respond, and return the case to the Board.

 

 

KELLI A. KORDICH

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	G. Slovick, 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.