BVA9508145 DOCKET NO. 93-09 056 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Portland, Oregon THE ISSUES 1. Entitlement to service connection for defective hearing in the left ear. 2. Entitlement to service connection for skin disability, including chloracne. 3. Entitlement to an increased evaluation for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), currently evaluated as 50 percent disabling. (The issue of entitlement to waiver of collection of a compensation overpayment of $1,037.40 will be the subject of a separate decision.) REPRESENTATION Appellant represented by: Oregon Department of Veterans' Affairs WITNESS AT HEARING ON APPEAL Appellant ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD J. W. Loeb, Counsel REMAND The veteran served on active duty from May 1966 to May 1968. This case came before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from rating decisions of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Portland, Oregon. The veteran indicated in his September 1991 substantive appeal that he should be service-connected for defective hearing in his right ear. It was contended on behalf of the veteran in April 1993 that he should be service-connected for drug and alcohol abuse secondary to his service-connected PTSD and that he is unemployable due to his PTSD. Although the issue of entitlement to service connection for drug abuse was denied by rating decision of December 1988, the veteran was not notified of the denial. Based on the above, the Board finds that additional development is required prior to final disposition of this case. Therefore, this case is being REMANDED to the RO for the following actions: 1. The veteran should be permitted to submit any additional evidence that is pertinent to all current and raised issues. He should be requested to provide the names, addresses, and dates of treatment of any physicians or facilities, including the VA, that have treated him for all pertinent disabilities. Any medical provider identified should be asked for copies of the veteran's clinical records not currently on file. Any records obtained should be associated with the claims folder. The veteran should be asked to sign any necessary consent forms for release of his private medical records. 2. The veteran should be asked to provide a recent work history. This history should include any full or part-time employment, to include the name of the employer, the type of work, and the hours worked per week, as well as any attempts to obtain employment if he has not worked. The RO should also ask the veteran if he is currently receiving Social Security disability benefits. If the veteran is receiving Social Security disability benefits, the RO should contact the Division of Benefit Services, Office of Disability Operations, Social Security Administration, Baltimore, Maryland 21241, and request copies of the disability award decision and the complete records upon which the Social Security Administration based its determination of disability. All records obtained as a result of the above should be added to the veteran's claims file. 3. After the above actions have been completed, the veteran should be afforded a special psychiatric examination by a board certified psychiatrist, if available, in accordance with the VA Physician's Guide for Disability Evaluation Examinations, to determine the nature and extent of all psychiatric disorders present. All necessary tests and studies should be conducted, and all findings should be reported in detail. The psychiatric examiner should distinguish the manifestations of PTSD from any other psychiatric disorders present and offer an opinion as to whether it is at least as likely as not that alcoholism and/or drug abuse, if present, is attributable to the veteran's PTSD. The examiner should also indicate the appropriate Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) Numerical Score for the service-connected manifestations of PTSD and provide the associated descriptive phrase that explains its meaning. Additionally, the examiner should provide an opinion on the impact of the veteran's PTSD on his ability to work. The rationale for all opinions expressed should be fully explained. The claims folder must be made available to the examiner for review before examination of the veteran. 4. The RO should then undertake any other indicated development. Thereafter, the RO should adjudicate the issues of entitlement to service connection for drug and alcohol abuse and for defective hearing in the right ear, readjudicate the issues on appeal, and, if appropriate, adjudicate the issue of entitlement to a total rating based on unemployability, including under the provisions of 38 C.F.R. § 4.16(c) (1994), if applicable. After the above, if the benefits sought are not granted to the satisfaction of the veteran, the veteran and his representative should be provided with a supplemental statement of the case that addresses all issues in appellate status and an opportunity to respond. The case should then be returned to the Board, if otherwise in order. The veteran need take no action until notified. Member, Board of Veterans' Appeals The Board of Veterans' Appeals Administrative Procedures Improvement Act, Pub. L. No. 103-271, § 6, 108 Stat. 740, ___ (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) (1994).