Citation Nr: 21042710 Decision Date: 07/13/21 Archive Date: 07/13/21 DOCKET NO. 17-05 673A DATE: July 13, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to an initial rating higher than 50 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from October 1968 to November 1972. This case comes to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) from a March 2015 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office. In the Form 9 substantive appeal, the Veteran requested a hearing before a Veterans Law Judge, but in correspondence received in September 2017 and January 2020, he withdrew his hearing request. Unfortunately, the Board finds that additional development is needed in this case before it can be appropriately adjudicated. The Veteran submitted a claim for service connection for PTSD with major depressive disorder in October 2014, and in a March 2015 rating decision, he was assigned a 50 percent evaluation, effective October 21, 2013. The Veteran has not attended a VA examination since March 2015, which is over 6 years ago. VA treatment records have also not been obtained since May 2016. It is therefore impossible for the Board to assess the current severity of the Veteran's PTSD symptoms. The Veteran wrote in his February 2017 Form 9 that he had withdrawn from the public, rarely left his house due to extreme depression, and had extreme anxiety which precluded him from socializing. This may indicate a worsening of the Veteran's symptoms since the March 2015 examination, at which he was not found to have any anxiety, isolation, or difficulty with relationships. The Veteran also indicated that he has received treatment through the Vet Center in Fayetteville. It does not appear that these records have yet been obtained and associated with the claims file. Vet Center records are deemed in the constructive possession of VA, and should be obtained prior to adjudication. See Dunn v. West, 11 Vet. App. 462, 466-67 (1998) (citing Bell v. Derwinski, 2 Vet. App. 611 (1992). The Board also requests that notification be provided to the Veteran explaining to him that his representative, the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs, has withdrawn, and why. He should be provided with additional information regarding other options for representation. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Notify the Veteran that his former representative, the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs, withdrew in October 2019 because it was a state agency, and he no longer resides in Arkansas. Provide the Veteran with information regarding other options for representation. 2. Obtain all VA treatment records since May 2016 and all records from the Vet Center in Fayetteville since October 2013. 3. Schedule the Veteran for an examination with a psychiatrist or psychologist, to address the severity of his service-connected PTSD. The examination may be held via telehealth during social distancing restrictions. The examiner must be provided access to the Veteran's entire claims file and must specify in the report that the claims file has been reviewed. The examiner should discuss all of the Veteran's reported symptomatology, both currently and for the entire period since March 2015. The examiner should consider the Veteran's reports of having anxiety and depression, isolating, rarely leaving his home, and being unable to socialize with others. DELYVONNE M. WHITEHEAD Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Mary E. Rude, 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.