Citation Nr: 18153626
Decision Date: 11/28/18	Archive Date: 11/28/18

DOCKET NO. 11-18 096
DATE:	November 28, 2018
REMANDED
Entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) is remanded.
REASONS FOR REMAND
The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Marine Corps from January 1975 to January 1979.
This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from an April 2010 rating decision issued by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO).
In an August 2017 decision, the Board denied the Veteran’s appeal for earlier effective date and increased rating claims for his service-connected hepatitis C.  Additionally, the Board found that entitlement to a TDIU had not been reasonably raised by the record and thus declined to address the issue further.
The Veteran timely appealed the August 2017 Board decision to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC).  In an August 2018 Order, pursuant to a Joint Motion for Partial Remand (JMPR) submitted by the parties, the Court vacated and remanded the portion of the Board’s decision that declined to address TDIU.
Initially, the Board notes that when evidence of evidence of unemployability is submitted during the course of an appeal from an assigned disability rating, a claim for a TDIU will be considered part of the claim for benefits for the underlying disability. Rice v. Shinseki, 22 Vet. App. 447 (2009).  Here, the evidence indicates that the Veteran’s service-connected hepatitis C impacts his employability.  Specifically, a March 2013 private treatment record indicates his hepatitis C prevents him from maintaining substantial gainful employment, however his employment status during this time is unclear.  As such, the issue of entitlement to a TDIU has been raised and is within the jurisdiction of the Board, and must be developed on remand. 
The matter is REMANDED for the following action:
1. Advise the Veteran on how to substantiate a claim for a TDIU.  Additionally, provide him with a VA Form 21-8940, and request that he supply the requisite information.
2. Then, after taking any additional development deemed necessary, adjudicate the TDIU claim.
 
S. BUSH
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	R. Asante, Associate Counsel