Citation Nr: A25035376 Decision Date: 04/16/25 Archive Date: 04/16/25 DOCKET NO. 210414-152639 DATE: April 16, 2025 REMANDED Entitlement to an initial evaluation in excess of 50 percent for service-connected adjustment disorder is remanded. Entitlement to an effective date earlier than March 21, 2006 for the award of service connection for service-connected adjustment disorder is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served in the United States Army on active duty from December 1970 to February 1971. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a March 2021 rating decision by the Regional Office (RO) of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). In the April 2021 VA Form 10182, Decision Review Request: Board Appeal (Notice of Disagreement), the Veteran elected the Hearing docket. A Board hearing was held in October 2024. Therefore, the Board may only consider the evidence of record at the time of the March 2021 agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) decision on appeal, as well as any evidence submitted by the Veteran [or representative] at the October 2024 hearing or within 90 days following the hearing. 38 C.F.R. § 20.302(a). If evidence was submitted either (1) during the period after the AOJ issued the decision on appeal and prior to the Board hearing, or (2) more than 90 days following the hearing, the Board did not consider it in its decision. 38 C.F.R. §§ 20.300, 20.302(a), 20.801. However, because the Board is remanding the claims on appeal, any evidence the Board could not consider will be considered by the AOJ in the adjudication of those claims. 38 C.F.R. § 3.103(c)(2)(ii). The Board notes that the Veteran's attorney has raised a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) claim from this acquired psychiatric rating claim. However, the record indicates the Veteran has a TDIU claim pending before the Board with a different docket currently on appeal. Therefore, although the issue of TDIU has been reasonably raised as part of the acquired psychiatric increased rating claim, the Board declines to adjudicate the TDIU aspect of the rating claim at this time. See Rice v. Shinseki 22 Vet. App. 447, 453-54 (2009); Phillips v. McDonough, 37 Vet. App. 394 (2024). The Board does not review its own decisions and, therefore, as the TDIU issue will be decided on another docket, the Board declines adjudicating the TDIU issue as part of this appeal. This appeal has been advanced on the docket pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 20.900(c). Entitlement to an initial evaluation in excess of 50 percent for service-connected adjustment disorder 1. Entitlement to an effective date earlier than March 21, 2006 for the award of service connection for service-connected adjustment disorder In March 2021, the Veteran was provided a VA examination for an acquired psychiatric disability, to include PTSD and adjustment disorder. The report shows a diagnosis of adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood. However, a review of the claims file indicates that the examiner did not appear to fully consider a diagnosis of PTSD which had been assessed in January 2008. See September 2008 CAPRI. Given the VA medical treatment record indicating a diagnosis of PTSD which was not addressed by the March 2021 VA examiner, the Board finds that the AOJ committed a pre-decisional duty to assist error by not providing the Veteran with a new VA examination. Remand is required to obtain a new VA examination to address the nature and severity of the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disability. The Board further finds that the issue of the Veteran's entitlement to an effective date earlier than March 21, 2006 for the award of service connection for service-connected adjustment disorder is inextricably intertwined with the claim remanded herein. Accordingly, the earlier effective date issue must be held in abeyance pending adjudication of the aforementioned claim. See Henderson v. West, 12 Vet. App. 11, 20 (1998) (matters are "inextricably intertwined" where action on one matter could have a "significant impact" on the other). The matters are REMANDED for the following action: Schedule the Veteran for a VA examination by a qualified examiner regarding the current severity and manifestations of his service-connected adjustment disorder. The examiner must review the claims file. The examiner must attempt to elicit information regarding the severity, frequency, and duration of symptoms. The examiner should report all signs and symptoms necessary for rating the Veteran's disability under the General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders. The findings of the examiner should address the level of social and occupational impairment attributable to the Veteran's psychiatric disability. (Continued on next page.) ? The examiner MUST also discuss the diagnosis of PTSD found in the VA and private medical treatment records. Paulette Vance Burton Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board A.L.N. 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.