Citation Nr: 18157134 Decision Date: 12/11/18 Archive Date: 12/11/18 DOCKET NO. 16-13 947 DATE: December 11, 2018 ORDER Entitlement to a total disability based on individual unemployability (TDIU) is granted. FINDING OF FACT The evidence of record demonstrates that the Veteran’s service-connected disabilities render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for entitlement to a TDIU have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1155, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.340, 3.341, 4.16. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty with the Air Force from August 1959 to August 1979. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a January 2015 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). Entitlement to a TDIU The Veteran contends that he is no longer able to work due to complications with his service-connected coronary artery disease and diabetes mellitus, type II. A total disability rating may be assigned when the schedular rating is less than 100 percent where a veteran is 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, that disability is rated 60 percent or more, or if there are two or more disabilities, there shall be at least one disability rated 40 percent or more and sufficient additional disability to bring the combined rating to 70 percent or more. 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.340, 3.341, 4.16. In determining whether a Veteran is unemployable for VA purposes, consideration may be given to the Veteran’s level of education, special training, and previous work experience, but not to age or any impairment caused by nonservice-connected disabilities. 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.341, 4.16, 4.19; Hersey v. Derwinski, 2 Vet. App. 91 (1992); Faust v. West, 13 Vet. App. 342 (2000). A veteran need not show 100 percent unemployability in order to be entitled to a TDIU. Robertson v. Principi, 251 F.3d 1378 (Fed. Cir. 2001). From May 26, 2011, the Veteran has established service connection for coronary artery disease, rated at 60 percent disabling; post-traumatic stress disorder, rated 30 percent disabling; diabetes mellitus, type II, rated 20 percent disabling; tinnitus, rated 10 percent disabling; peripheral neuropathy, right lower extremity, rated 10 percent disabling; peripheral neuropathy, left lower extremity, rated 10 percent disabling; and scar associated with coronary artery disease, hearing loss, and erectile dysfunction, each rated noncompensable. The Veteran’s combined rating for compensation purposes is 80 percent, including the bilateral factor, effective May 26, 2011. 38 C.F.R. §§ 4.25, 4.26. Therefore, the Veteran met the schedular rating criteria for TDIU beginning May 26, 2011. 38 C.F.R. § 4.16 (a). The remaining inquiry is whether he was unable to secure or follow substantially gainful occupation due solely to service-connected disabilities. The evidence of record shows that the Veteran last worked in November 2010. Prior to his last period of employment, he served 20 years as an administration technician with the Air Force, he worked 25 years as an office assistant with a university, and he worked three years as a driver and lifter with a funeral home. The Veteran completed high school and some college. The Veteran retired from his job at the university primarily due to his health. In a letter dated October 2003 from Dr. G.K., he opined that it would be in the Veteran’s best interest if he were to leave his job and consider himself temporarily disabled. Subsequently, the Veteran obtained a job with a funeral home where he worked from 2007 to 2010. However, in correspondence from December 2014, it was stated that the Veteran was terminated from the funeral home in November 2010 due to a heart attack and a declined ability to complete tasks. The funeral home also determined that the Veteran was a liability as a driver due to his health concerns. In the Veteran’s February 2016 application for unemployability, he indicated that he sought employment as a sewing machine operator after he was terminated by the funeral home, but was not hired. Medical records in the claims file indicate that the Veteran has ongoing health concerns that render him unemployable. In a December 2011 VA examination for heart conditions, the VA examiner stated that the Veteran’s heart condition impacts his ability to work. The examiner determined that the Veteran was unable to continue his work with the funeral home because he was unable to lift and stand in the parking lot or graveyard in the cold weather. Medical records provided by the Veteran detail emergency room visits and hospitalizations due to coronary artery disease and diabetes mellitus, type II. The Veteran was hospitalized in May, June, and July 2011, April 2012, June 2013, October 2014, and August 2016 for complications with his service-connected disabilities. Specifically, in April 2012, the Veteran lost consciousness while driving and got into a car accident. Medical records also show that the Veteran is more fatigued, has suffered vision loss, and has an unsteady gait as a result of his diabetes mellitus, type II. In correspondence dated July 2013 from Dr. T.O., he opined that the Veteran is not capable of employment due to his diagnosed conditions of atrial fibrillation, coronary atherosclerosis, cerebellar ataxia, and diabetes mellitus, type II. Dr. T.O. rendered the same opinion in a May 2015 letter. Additionally, in an October 2017 VA examination, the examiner determined that the Veteran’s heart condition impacts his ability to work as there are functional limitations in prolonged strenuous activity. Based on the foregoing, the Board finds that the totality of the evidence supports a finding that the Veteran’s service-connected disabilities render him unemployable. Specifically, the evidence suggests that the Veteran’s coronary artery disease and diabetes mellitus, type II prevent him from working or seeking employment due to numerous medical appointments and frequent hospitalizations. Also, as a result of the Veteran’s service-connected disabilities, his vision has decreased, he is tired, and he is unable to drive. Additionally, the Veteran’s private physicians have opined that the Veteran’s service-connected disabilities prevent him from working and have recommended that the Veteran stop working due to his health. Further, the evidence shows that the Veteran was dismissed from his last employer specifically due to his poor health and attempted to find another job without success. Finally, based on reported symptoms including vision loss and fatigue, it would be difficult for the Veteran to continue employment. Therefore, the Board finds that the Veteran is unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation by reason of service-connected disabilities. Accordingly, a TDIU is warranted. 38 U.S.C. § 1155; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.340, 3.341, 4.16. L. M. BARNARD Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD M. Hartford, Associate Counsel