Citation Nr: 18141278 Decision Date: 10/11/18 Archive Date: 10/10/18 DOCKET NO. 15-43 225 DATE: October 11, 2018 ORDER Entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) is granted. FINDING OF FACT After resolving reasonable doubt, the Veteran’s service-connected disabilities preclude him from securing and following a substantially gainful occupation. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for a TDIU have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1155, 5107 (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.340, 3.341, 4.16 (2018). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran had active service from August 1989 to July 1993. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from an August 2015 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Veteran testified before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge (VLJ) in November 2017. 1. TDIU The Veteran has asserted his service-connected disabilities, specifically to include his service-connected posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), cause him to be too disabled to work. As discussed below, the Board finds that the Veteran is entitled to TDIU. Total disability ratings for compensation may be assigned, where the schedular rating is less than total, when the disabled person is, in the judgment of the rating agency, unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation as a result of service-connected disabilities: provided, that, if there is only one such disability, this disability shall be ratable at 60 percent or more, and that, if there are two or more disabilities, there shall be at least one disability ratable at 40 percent or more, and sufficient additional disability to bring the combined rating to 70 percent or more. It is provided that the existence or degree of nonservice-connected disabilities or previous unemployability status will be disregarded where the percentages referred to in this paragraph for the service- connected disability or disabilities are met and in the judgment of the rating agency such service-connected disabilities render the Veteran unemployable. In determining whether unemployability exists, consideration may be given to the Veteran’s level of education, special training and previous work experience, but not to his age or to any impairment caused by nonservice-connected disabilities. See 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.341, 4.16, 4.19 (2018). The Veteran’s service connected disabilities are the following: PTSD rated as 50 percent, pes planus rated as 30 percent from May 9, 2012 to October 9, 2017 and rated as 50 percent from then onward, and degenerative joint disease of the left knee rated as 10 percent. The Veteran’s combined rating effective May 9, 2012 was 70 percent. He therefore meets the criteria for consideration of TDIU on a schedular basis. The Veteran is approximately 47 years old. On his claim for TDIU dated April 2014 the Veteran reported that his PTSD prevented him from obtaining or securing substantially gainful occupation. He further noted on his claim for TDIU that his highest level of education was completion of high school. He has also since reported that his knee disability prevents him from securing employment. His last job was in 2017 and lasted for a week; he worked in a temp position at a help desk. Prior to that he worked in audio video communications from December 2013 to April 2014. Prior to that he worked in networking from November 2009 to August 2013. As discussed above, the Veteran reported that his PTSD prevents him from securing substantially gainful employment. The Board notes that in January 2014 a VA examiner noted that the Veteran’s PTSD has resulted in occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity, but that it did not prohibit either sedentary or physical employment. However, the VA examiner did not consider the impairment of the Veteran’s knee disability and pes planus. At a subsequent May 2015 VA examination the Veteran reported that he was not working and that his last job was in 2014. The Veteran reported his last work as a video technician, and reported that he left because of a physical problem with his knee in addition to not getting along with others and getting in physical altercations. He noted that he was counseled by his supervisors. Prior to that he worked installing television and cables but he was terminated from this position for missing time due to his knee issues. The Veteran reported that his longest period of employment was about five years. The examiner concluded that from an occupational standpoint, the Veteran had an ongoing history of short lived employment and terminations, with ongoing difficulty with relationships with others, emotional control, concentration and his ability to tolerate various working environments. Also, at his May 2015 VA examination for his knees and pes planus, the examiner reported that the Veteran’s knee disability and pes planus would affect his current employment status because he was only able to take one flight of stairs at a time and he was only able to stand 20 minutes at a time and lift up to 20 pounds of weight. A review of the medical evidence and lay evidence therefore indicates that the Veteran’s service-connected PTSD, degenerative joint disease of the left knee, and pes planus in the aggregate renders him unable to maintain substantial and gainful employment. Specifically, regarding his PTSD, the Veteran testified at his November 2017 Board hearing that his PTSD caused him difficulty concentrating and focusing in addition to difficulty finishing tasks that he started. Indeed, the medical evidence discussed above supports the Veteran’s report of symptoms as it pertains to the impairment on employment. The evidence further indicates that his knee disability and pes planus cause him difficulty in standing for more than 20 minutes and walking more than 100 yards. In light of the foregoing, after resolving the benefit of reasonable doubt in the Veteran’s favor, the Board finds that the Veteran’s limitations from his service-connected disabilities render him unable to obtain substantial and gainful employment to include physical and sedentary employment. Accordingly, the Board concludes that entitlement to a TDIU is warranted and the Veteran’s claim is therefore granted. 38 U.S.C. § 1155; 38 C.F.R. § 4.16. S. HENEKS Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD N. Kamal, Associate Counsel