Citation Nr: 18154363
Decision Date: 11/29/18	Archive Date: 11/29/18

DOCKET NO. 11-17 315A
DATE:	November 29, 2018
REMANDED
Entitlement to total disability rating due to individual unemployability (TDIU) is remanded.
(The issues of entitlement to service connection for a left ankle disability, and entitlement to increased ratings for gastroesophageal reflux disease(GERD) and a left foot disability, will be the subject of a subsequent Board panel decision).
 REASONS FOR REMAND
The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Air Force from July 1981 to June 1995. 
In April 2017, July 2017 and June 2018, the Veteran testified at Board hearings with regard to three claims on appeal, namely, entitlement to service connection for a left ankle disability, entitlement to an increased rating for GERD, and entitlement to an increased rating for left foot metatarsalgia.  Because these claims were addressed at three separate hearings conducted before three different Veterans Law Judges (VLJs) including the undersigned, those claims will be addressed in a separate three-judge panel decision.  
Nonetheless, during the July 2017 hearing conducted by the undersigned VLJ, the Veteran raised the issue of a TDIU and the undersigned alone heard testimony on, and inferred, a claim for a TDIU.  See Rice v. Shinseki, 22 Vet. App. 447 (2009).  Therefore, the TDIU claim will remain before the undersigned.
1. Entitlement to TDIU is remanded.
The Veteran's claim of entitlement to TDIU is inextricably intertwined with the remaining issues on appeal that will be adjudicated in a panel decision.  The claim for a TDIU must be remanded as the decision on the pending appeals may have a significant impact on the claim for a TDIU.  See Harris v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 180 (1991)
Additionally, the Veteran has not yet had the opportunity to submit a VA Form 21-8940 Application for Increased Compensation Based on Unemployability or provide a detailed work history.  As such, these items should be obtained upon remand.  
The matter is REMANDED for the following action:
1.  Send the Veteran the appropriate VCAA notice to substantiate a claim for a TDIU and a VA Form 21-8940, Veteran's Application for Increased Compensation Based on Unemployability and request that he return the completed application within the appropriate amount of time.  
2. Undertake any further appropriate action(s) for development of this claim.  Please note that there are intertwined claims on appeal that will be addressed in a separate Board panel decision.



3.  Finally, readjudicate the appeal.  If the benefits sought on appeal remains denied, issue a supplemental statement of the case and return the case to the Board.
 
S. B. MAYS
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	S. A. Prinsen, Associate Counsel