Citation Nr: 21041773 Decision Date: 07/10/21 Archive Date: 07/10/21 DOCKET NO. 16-39 635 DATE: July 10, 2021 REMANDED The issue of entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include a specified depressive disorder, an unspecified anxiety disorder, schizoid personality disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), is remanded. The issue of entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran had active service from March 1977 to April 1986. Review of the record indicates that the Veteran was diagnosed with a specified depressive disorder, an unspecified anxiety disorder, and schizoid personality disorder. As such, the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) has recharacterized the Veteran's psychiatric claim more broadly as one for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include a specified depressive disorder, an unspecified anxiety disorder, schizoid personality disorder, and PTSD. Clemons v. Shinseki, 23 Vet. App. 1, 5 (2009). In November 2018, the Board remanded these issues for additional development. Unfortunately, as further evidentiary development is required, it is necessary to remand these issues again. Service Connection An Acquired Psychiatric Disorder At a November 2019 VA examination, the examiner diagnosed the Veteran with a specified depressive disorder, an unspecified anxiety disorder, and schizoid personality disorder, while noting that the Veteran does not have PTSD. The Veteran maintains, however, that he has PTSD. He asserts that the stressors that triggered his claimed PTSD include incidents in August 1979 in which he was physically beaten, deprived of sleep, and threatened continuously while he was in Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) training, where he was also locked in a cement box with a wooden front opening, and often "hooded." The Veteran further states that he witnessed other students being buckled to a board and had water poured on their faces. He described another stressor incident that involved his participation in a dangerous mission aboard an aircraft in search of Vietnamese boat refugees, in 1979, in which a volcano pelted the aircraft and broke the cockpit glass, putting the aircraft in danger of crashing. The Veteran's DD Form 214 corroborates his participation in SERE training for nine days in August 1979. Regarding claims based on personal assault in service, as in the Veteran's case, VA regulations state, in pertinent part, that, if a PTSD claim is based on in-service personal assault, evidence from sources other than the Veteran's service records may corroborate the Veteran's account of the stressor incident. Examples of such evidence include, but are not limited to: records from law enforcement authorities, rape crisis centers, mental health counseling centers, hospitals, or physicians; pregnancy tests or tests for sexually transmitted diseases; and statements from family members, roommates, fellow service members, or clergy. Evidence of behavior changes following the claimed assault is one type of relevant evidence that may be found in these sources. Examples of behavior changes that may constitute credible evidence of the stressor include, but are not limited to: a request for a transfer to another military duty assignment; deterioration in work performance; substance abuse; episodes of depression, panic attacks, or anxiety without an identifiable cause; or unexplained economic or social behavior changes. Importantly, pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 3.304(f)(5), VA will not deny a PTSD claim that is based on in-service personal assault without first advising the claimant that evidence from sources other than the Veteran's service records or evidence of behavior changes may constitute credible supporting evidence of the stressor and without allowing him or her the opportunity to furnish this type of evidence or advise VA of potential sources of such evidence. VA may submit any evidence that it receives to an appropriate medical or mental health professional for an opinion as to whether it indicates that a personal assault occurred. 38 C.F.R. § 3.304(f)(5). Here, while VA notified the Veteran, in correspondence dated in August 2019, that he should provide details regarding his stressors, to include medical reports, he was not specifically informed in that correspondence, pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 3.304(f)(5), that he could provide evidence such as statements from family members, roommates, fellow service members, or clergy, etc., to corroborate his accounts of the incidents. The Veteran should be afforded every reasonable opportunity possible to help substantiate his claim for service connection for PTSD due to personal assault, which includes submitting lay statements from family members, roommates, fellow service members, or clergy, if available. As such, it is necessary for VA to contact the Veteran about obtaining such evidence and submitting it to an appropriate examiner for further reviewand for the examiner to evaluate the Veteran and opine whether a personal assault had occurred. TDIU As the Veteran's claim for a TDIU is related to his claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, the issue of entitlement to a TDIU must be remanded as well. See Harris v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 180, 183 (1991) (two issues are "inextricably intertwined" when they are so closely tied together that a final Board decision on one issue cannot be rendered until the other issue has been considered). Accordingly, these matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Notify the Veteran about evidentiary requirements for claims of entitlement to service connection for PTSD based on personal assault, including, for instance, statements from family members, roommates, fellow service members, or clergy, etc., to corroborate his accounts of the incidents. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.304(f)(5). Associate all such evidence with the Veteran's claims file. 2. Then, schedule the Veteran for another VA examination by an appropriate examiner to determine whether the diagnostic criteria for PTSD under DSM-5 are met. The Veteran's claims file must be made available to the examiner. All necessary special studies or tests, to include psychological testing and evaluation, should be accomplished. The examiner should comment on the presence or absence of any behavioral changes occurring at or close in time to the alleged stressor incidents. The examiner should also render opinions as to whether the claimed in service physical assault in SERE training occurred; whether the Veteran currently has PTSD; and if so, whether it is at least as likely as not that PTSD or an acquired psychiatric disability of any kind was caused or aggravated by his active service, to include reports of in service physical assault. A rationale must be provided for all opinions expressed. 3. Readjudicate the remaining claims on appeal. THERESA M. CATINO Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board T. Trowers, Associate 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.