Citation Nr: 21029488 Decision Date: 05/13/21 Archive Date: 05/13/21 DOCKET NO. 19-22 275A DATE: May 13, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), is remanded. Entitlement to a rating in excess of 40 percent for traumatic brain injury (TBI) residuals is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from September 2006 to July 2008. This appeal to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) is from an August 2017 rating decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In April 2020, the Board issued a decision that, in part, denied these claims but conversely granted an additional claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU). The Veteran appealed the Board's decision to the higher U. S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Veterans Court/CAVC), to the extent it had denied these claims. In February 2021, the parties filed a Joint Motion for Partial Remand (JMPR), which the Court granted in an Order that same month, partially vacating the Board's decision to the extent denying these claims and remanding them back to the Board for further development and re-adjudication in compliance with directives specified. To comply with the Court's Order granting the JMPR, the Board, in turn, is remanding these claims back to the RO. Entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including depression, anxiety, and PTSD (and) Entitlement to a rating higher than 40 percent for residuals of the TBI The Veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder initially included only depression and anxiety. However, as noted in the February 2021 JMPR, he also has indicated elsewhere that he potentially suffers from PTSD. As a function of the Board's de novo review authority, after considering the medical evidence of record, the Board has recharacterized his claim more broadly as for an acquired psychiatric disorder, inclusive of PTSD, depression, and anxiety. See Clemons v. Shinseki, 23 Vet. App. 1, 6 (2009). The Veteran has not undergone a VA PTSD examination, only instead examinations for other mental disorders. And, pursuant to agreement in the JMPR, he should also undergo a VA PTSD examination. Further, the JMPR points out that there currently is no VA opinion of record addressing any potential aggravation of an acquired psychiatric disorder by the service connected TBI. As such, VA must develop this secondary service connection theory of entitlement by having the VA examiner additionally address whether any acquired psychiatric disorder is being aggravated by the Veteran's TBI residuals. Concerning the TBI residuals, the February 2021 JMPR agrees that reexamination is needed to reassess their severity, so this also must be done. Accordingly, these claims are REMANDED for the following action: 1. If there are outstanding records concerning these claims, obtain them and appropriately notify the Veteran and his representative if unable to obtain any additional records that he identifies with the required amount of information. 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(c) and (e). 2. After obtaining all additional treatment or other relevant records, schedule the Veteran for a mental status examination to determine a) whether he has PTSD and, if confirmed he does, b) whether it is as likely as not attributable to a particularly traumatic event ("stressor") during his military service including caused OR aggravated by his TBI or the residuals of it. Also obtain an addendum opinion from an appropriate mental health clinician regarding whether c) any other acquired psychiatric disorder, including especially depression and anxiety, is caused OR aggravated by the TBI or the residuals of it. *When responding, the examiner must be certain to comment on both proximate cause and aggravation. 3. As well, schedule the Veteran for an examination by an appropriate clinician to reassess the severity of his TBI residuals. The examiner must provide a full description of this disability and report all signs and symptoms necessary for evaluating it under the applicable rating criteria. KEITH W. ALLEN Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board K. Pak 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.