Citation Nr: 21030284
Decision Date: 05/18/21	Archive Date: 05/18/21

DOCKET NO. 14-44 281
DATE: May 18, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), sleep disorder, major depressive disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder, is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Army from May 1966 to April 1968.  This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from an October 2013 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) and was previously remanded by the Board in July 2017 and August 2018.

In a February 2016 decision, the Board denied the Veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder.  The Veteran appealed the decision to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court), which granted a Joint Motion for Partial Remand (JMPR) in November 2016, remanding the matter for action consistent with terms of the JMPR.

The Board notes that the issues of entitlement to service connection for benign prostate hyperplasia, degenerative joint disease (DJD) of the cervical spine, DJD of the lumbar spine, DJD of the hips, hypertensive cardiovascular disease; entitlement to a rating in excess of 10 percent for conjunctivitis; and entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to service-connected disabilities were also remanded by the Board in August 2018.  A supplemental statement of the case (SSOC) as to these claims was issued in January 2021.  In February 2021, within 60 days of the issuance of the January 2021 SSOC, the Veteran opted into a review under the Appeals Modernization Act (AMA) by submitting a VA Form 10182, Decision Review Request: Board Appeal (Notice of Disagreement) regarding all of the issues addressed in the January 2021 SSOC.  The Veteran's appeal as to the claims of entitlement to service connection for benign prostate hyperplasia, DJD of the cervical spine, DJD of the lumbar spine, DJD of the hips, hypertensive cardiovascular disease; entitlement to a rating in excess of 10 percent for conjunctivitis; and entitlement to a TDIU have been docketed in the Board's modernized appeals system in accordance with his February 2021 election on the timely filed VA Form 10182.  As such, they will be adjudicated in a separate AMA decision.  

Entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD, sleep disorder, major depressive disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder, is remanded.

In July 2017, the Board remanded the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder claim to obtain outstanding VA and private treatment records.  The Board remanded the matter again in August 2018 for compliance with its July 2017 remand directives.  Following compliance with the Board's 2017 and 2018 remand directives, the RO readjudicated the other issues on appeal at the time, to include the claims of entitlement to service connection for benign prostate hyperplasia, DJD of the cervical spine, DJD of the lumbar spine, DJD of the hips, hypertensive cardiovascular disease; entitlement to a rating in excess of 10 percent for conjunctivitis; and entitlement to a TDIU, and issued a SSOC in January 2021, which did not address the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder claim.  As noted above, the issues in the January 2021 SSOC are now docketed under the AMA appeals system.  However, the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder claim remains under the legacy appeals system.  As the RO did not readjudicate the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder claim and issue the Veteran a SSOC, following obtaining relevant post-service VA and private treatment records in compliance with the Board's 2017 and 2018 remand directives, a remand is required.  38 C.F.R. § 19.31 (2019).

The matter is REMANDED for the following action:

Readjudicate the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder claim on appeal.  If the benefit sought on appeal remains denied, the Veteran and his representative should be furnished with a SSOC, given the opportunity to respond, and the case should be thereafter returned to the Board for further appellate review, if warranted. 

 

 

KELLI A. KORDICH

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	D. Houle, 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.