Citation Nr: 18139846
Decision Date: 10/01/18	Archive Date: 10/01/18

DOCKET NO. 16-03 433
DATE:	October 1, 2018
ORDER
Entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities (TDIU) is granted.
FINDING OF FACT
The Veteran’s service-connected disabilities prevent the Veteran from securing and maintaining substantially gainful employment, and he meets the schedular criteria for TDIU.
CONCLUSION OF LAW
The criteria for entitlement to TDIU have been met. 38 U.S.C. § 1155 (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 4.16 (2018).
REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION
The Veteran served on active duty from February 1969 to January 1972.
This matter comes to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a February 2013 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Columbia, South Carolina.
The Veteran testified at a personal hearing before the Board in August 2017, and a transcript of the hearing is of record.
The Board notes that the Veteran also initially appealed the issue of entitlement to a disability rating in excess of 70 percent for an acquired psychiatric disorder.  A statement of the case was issued in January 2016 in response to the Veteran’s notice of disagreement, but a January 2016 substantive appeal to the Board indicated that the Veteran was only perfecting his claim for TDIU to the Board.  Moreover, the Veteran testified in the August 2017 personal hearing before the Board that the only issue before the Board was entitlement to TDIU.  Therefore, the Board shall not address the issue of entitlement to an increased disability rating for an acquired psychiatric disorder any further.
Entitlement to TDIU.
The Veteran claims that he is entitled to TDIU.  The weight of the evidence indicates that the Veteran is entitled to TDIU
The Veteran has met the schedular requirements for TDIU, because the Veteran has been assigned a single disability rating that is at least 60 percent disabling throughout the period on appeal.  38 C.F.R. § 4.16.
The Veteran’s compensable disability ratings include a disability rating of 70 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder, and a disability rating of 60 percent for coronary artery disease.  See October 2014 Rating Codesheet.  A disability rating of 70 percent for an acquired psychiatric disorder represents a finding that the Veteran has manifested occupational impairment with deficiencies in most areas including work.  38 C.F.R. § 4.149, General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders.  A disability rating of 60 percent for coronary artery disease represents a finding that the Veteran is not able to perform a workload greater than five metabolic equivalents before dyspnea, fatigue, angina, dizziness, or syncope sets in.  See October 2014 Rating Decision.  
Based on this and the other evidence of record, to include the Veteran’s August 2017 hearing testimony, the Board finds that the Veteran’s coronary artery disease prevents him from securing and maintaining substantially gainful non-sedentary employment, and the Veteran’s PTSD prevents him from securing and maintaining most substantially gainful employment to include sedentary employment.  As such, the Veteran meets the schedular criteria for TDIU, and he is unable to secure and maintain substantially gainful employment due to his service-connected disabilities.  Therefore, TDIU is granted.
 
BARBARA B. COPELAND
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	David R. Seaton, Associate Counsel