Citation NR: 9615156	
Decision Date: 05/30/96		Archive Date: 06/12/96

DOCKET NO.  94-18 074	)	DATE
	)
	)

On appeal from the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Oakland, 
California


THE ISSUE

Entitlement to an increased rating for post-traumatic stress 
disorder, currently rated 50 percent disabling.


REPRESENTATION

Appellant represented by:	Veterans of Foreign Wars of 
the United States


WITNESS AT HEARING ON APPEAL

Appellant


ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD

Gregory W. Fortsch, Associate Counsel
REMAND

The veteran served on active duty from January 1968 to 
December 1969.

The Board has determined that, based on various statements 
from the veteran and his representative at a March 1996 
hearing before a traveling section of the Board of Veterans’ 
Appeals (Board), a remand is required at this time.  
Initially, the veteran’s representative pointed out that some 
records may be missing from the file.  In particular, some 
medical records relating to the veteran’s treatment from 1993 
to the present at the Reno and American Lake Department of 
Veterans Affairs Medical Centers (VAMC) seem to be missing.  
Also missing from the file are records from several 
counselors the veteran has consulted for his disability.  
These counselors include William Larsen, MFCC, Andrea Earle, 
MFCC, and Mary Tendall, MFCC.  Finally, the folder relating 
to the veteran’s claim for vocational rehabilitation is not 
part of the claims file.  The regional office (RO) should 
attempt to obtain all of these records, and associate them 
with the claims file.

Also useful would be another VA examination to determine the 
current level of the veteran’s disability as well as a Social 
and Industrial Survey.  

To ensure that the VA has met its duty to assist the claimant 
in developing the facts pertinent to the claim and to ensure 
full compliance with due process requirements, the case is 
REMANDED to the RO for the following development:

1.  After securing the necessary 
releases, the RO should obtain all 
records relating to the veteran’s post-
traumatic stress disorder treatment from 
Andrea Earle, MFCC, William Larsen, MFCC, 
and Mary Tendall, MFCC.  

2.  The RO should obtain all records 
pertaining to the veteran’s treatment for 
post-traumatic stress disorder from the 
Reno and American Lake VAMCs, 
particularly with respect to both 
inpatient and outpatient treatment 
received since 1993.  

3.  The RO should associate the veteran’s 
vocational rehabilitation (Chapter 31) 
folder with the claims file.

4.  The veteran should be given a special 
psychiatric examination to determine the 
current severity of his service-connected 
post-traumatic stress disorder.  The 
claims folder must be made available to 
the examiner for review prior to the 
examination.  All necessary tests and 
studies, including appropriate 
psychological studies, should be 
conducted, and all findings should be 
reported in detail.  The examiner should 
also provide an opinion of the extent to 
which the veteran's post-traumatic stress 
disorder interferes with his ability to 
establish and maintain relationships as 
well as the reduction in initiative, 
efficiency, flexibility and reliability 
levels due to his schizophrenia.  In this 
regard, the terms mild, definite, 
considerable, severe and total are the 
preferred descriptive adjectives.  A 
complete rationale for any opinion 
expressed must be provided.

5.  The veteran should be afforded a VA 
Social and Industrial Survey to assess 
the veteran's employment history and day-
to-day functioning.  A written copy of 
the report should be associated with the 
claims folder.

6.  After the development requested above 
has been completed to the extent 
possible, the RO should again review the 
record, including all of the new evidence 
described above which has become 
associated with the claims file since the 
May 1994 statement of the case.  If the 
benefit sought on appeal remains denied, 
the veteran and his representative should 
be furnished a supplemental statement of 
the case and given the opportunity to 
respond thereto.


Thereafter, the case should be returned to the Board, if in 
order.  The Board intimates no opinion as to the ultimate 
outcome of this case.  The veteran need take no action unless 
otherwise notified.




		
	THOMAS J. DANNAHER
	Member, Board of Veterans' Appeals

The Board of Veterans' Appeals Administrative Procedures 
Improvement Act, Pub. L. No. 103-271, § 6, 108 Stat. 740, 741 
(1994), permits a proceeding instituted before the Board to 
be assigned to an individual member of the Board for a 
determination.  This proceeding has been assigned to an 
individual member of the Board.

Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (West 1991), only a decision of the 
Board of Veterans' Appeals is appealable to the United States 
Court of Veterans Appeals.  This remand is in the nature of a 
preliminary order and does not constitute a decision of the 
Board on the merits of your appeal.  38 C.F.R. § 20.1100(b) 
(1995).
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