Citation Nr: 18147116 Decision Date: 11/02/18 Archive Date: 11/02/18 DOCKET NO. 11-32 060 DATE: November 2, 2018 REMANDED Entitlement to a total disability rating based upon individual unemployability (TDIU) due to service-connected disabilities is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for headaches is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for convulsions is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for heart disability is remanded. Entitlement to compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from November 1976 to February 1980. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a July 2013 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) Regional Office (RO) in Roanoke, Virginia, which, in pertinent part, denied entitlement to a total disability rating based upon individual unemployability (TDIU). 1. Entitlement to a total disability rating based upon individual unemployability (TDIU) due to service-connected disabilities is remanded. The Veteran seeks entitlement to a total disability rating based upon individual unemployability (TDIU). The Veteran contends she is unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation as a result of her service-connected disabilities. For the following reasons, the Board is unable to make a determination on the Veteran’s claim of entitlement to a total disability rating based upon individual unemployability (TDIU) without remand. In November 2014 the Board issued an opinion, granting the Veteran’s application to reopen a claim for service connection for heart disability and remanded entitlement to service connection for headaches, convulsions, and heart disability, and entitlement to compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151. Although the Board remanded for VA examinations and further development, development has not been done on the remanded claims. Therefore, additional remand is required for full compliance with the Board’s previous remand instructions. Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268, 270-71 (1998). As resolution of the claims of entitlement to service connection for headaches, convulsions, and heart disability may have an impact on the appellant’s claim of entitlement to a total disability rating based upon individual unemployability (TDIU), the issues are inextricably intertwined. See Harris v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 180, 183 (1991) (holding that where a decision on one issue would have a “significant impact” upon another, and that impact in turn could render any appellate review meaningless and a waste of judicial resources, the two claims are inextricably intertwined). Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Schedule the Veteran for a VA examination as to the etiology of any headache or convulsion related disability. All necessary tests should be conducted. The claims filed must be sent to the examiner for review. The examiner should first identify any current disabilities related to headaches or convulsions. Then, the examiner should state whether it is as least as likely as not (50 percent probability or more) that any such disability is related to the Veteran’s service, including the helicopter crash she described. A complete rationale should accompany any opinion provided. The examiner is advised that the Veteran is competent to report symptoms, treatment, and injuries, and that her reports must be taken into account in formulating the requested opinions, particularly here where the service treatment records (STRs) are unavailable. 2. Schedule the Veteran for a VA examination as to the etiology of her heart disabilities. All necessary tests should be conducted. The claims file must be sent to the examiner for review. The examiner should indicate whether it is as least as likely as not (50 percent probability or more) that any current heart disability is either (a) caused or (b) aggravated by her service-connected anxiety disorder with dysthymic disorder. The examiner should specifically comment on the VA documents indicating an association between Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and heart disease. A complete rationale should accompany any opinion provided. The examiner is advised that the Veteran is competent to report symptoms, treatment, and injuries, and that her reports must be taken into account in formulating the requested opinions. 3. Arrange for an appropriate physician to review the Veteran’s VA claims file and provide an opinion as to whether VA’s carelessness, negligence, lack of proper skill, error in judgment, or other instance of fault in treating the Veteran’s right ankle fracture resulted in additional disability of the ankle. The examiner should also opine as to whether the proximate cause of any additional disability was an event that was not reasonably foreseeable. A complete rationale should accompany any opinion provided. (Continued on the next page)   4. After the development has been completed, readjudicate the claims for entitlement to a total disability rating based upon individual unemployability (TDIU); service connection for headaches, convulsions, and heart disability, and the claim for entitlement to compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151. If any benefit sought on appeal remains denied, furnish the Veteran and her attorney a supplemental statement of the case (SSOC) and an opportunity to respond. The case should then be returned to the Board for appropriate appellate consideration, if in order. K. Conner Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD M. Ruddy, Associate Counsel