Citation Nr: 18159562 Decision Date: 12/20/18 Archive Date: 12/19/18 DOCKET NO. 16-29 454 DATE: December 20, 2018 ORDER Subject to the law and regulations governing payment of monetary benefits, an award of a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) is granted. FINDING OF FACT 1. The Veteran is currently service connected for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and is currently rated at 70 percent. 2. Considering the supporting evidence demonstrating that the Veteran’s PTSD has rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation, the benefit of the doubt must be applied in favoring of granting the Veteran’s TDIU claim. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for entitlement to TDIU have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1155, 5107 (2017); 38 C.F.R §§ 3.340, 3.341, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.16 (2017). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty with the United States Air Force from July 1964 through October 1967. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a September 2013 rating decision of the Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Cleveland, Ohio. A total disability rating may be assigned, where the schedular rating is less than total, when it is found that the disabled person is unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation as the result of service-connected disabilities. See 38 U.S.C. § 1155; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.340, 3.341, 4.16. Consideration may be given to a veteran’s level of education, special training, and previous work experience in arriving at a conclusion, but not to his age or the impairment caused by nonservice-connected disabilities. See 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.341, 4.16, 4.19; see also Todd v. McDonald, 27 Vet. App. 79, 85-86 (2014). To qualify for a total rating for compensation purposes, the evidence must show: (1) a single disability rated as 100 percent disabling; or (2) that the veteran is unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation as a result of his service-connected disabilities and there is one disability ratable at 60 percent or more, or, if more than one disability, at least one disability ratable at 40 percent or more and a combined disability rating of 70 percent. 38 C.F.R. § 4.16(a). For the purpose of establishing one 60 percent disability, or one 40 percent disability in combination, disabilities affecting a single body system are considered as one disability. Id. Disabilities that are not service connected cannot serve as a basis for a total disability rating. 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.341, 4.19. Unlike the regular disability rating schedule, which is based on the average work-related impairment caused by a disability, “entitlement to TDIU is based on an individual’s particular circumstance.” Rice v. Shinseki, 22 Vet. App. 447, 452 (2009) (quoting Thun v. Peake, 22 Vet. App. 111, 116 (2008)); see also Todd, 27 Vet. App. at 85-86. Therefore, in adjudicating a TDIU claim, VA must take into account the individual veteran’s education, training, and work history. Hatlestad v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 164, 168 (1991) (level of education is a factor in deciding employability); see Friscia v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 294 (1994) (considering veteran’s experience as a pilot, his training in business administration and computer programming, and his history of obtaining and losing 19 jobs in the previous 18 years); Beaty v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 532 (1994) (considering veteran’s 8th grade education and sole occupation as a farmer); Moore v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 356 (1991) (considering veteran’s master degree in education and his part-time work as a tutor). The Veteran contends that he is entitled to TDIU based on the impact of his PTSD, which is a single disability currently rated at 70 percent. See Scott v. McDonald, 789 F.3d 1375 (Fed. Cir. 2015). The Veteran stated that prior to becoming unemployable, he independently managed his own business for several years until he continued to struggle with PTSD symptoms. See VA Examination Report, February 2011. The Veteran reported that he was forced to turn his business over to his son in 2010 after having difficulty with his memory and was no longer able to remember the important aspects of his job to handle and manage his own financial affairs. See VA Examination Report, February 2011; see also Hearing Transcript, page 3, August 2017. The Veteran also reported that once he was no longer able to operate his business, his PTSD symptoms had worsened. See VA Examination Report, January 2011. The Veteran reported frequent nightmares about service in Vietnam and that waking up in a state of disorientation. See VA Examination Report, February 2011; see also Hearing Transcript, page 3, August 2017. The Veteran was observed during a January 2011 psychology consult with the VA where it was noted that the Veteran was reexperiencing traumatic events in intrusive memories, recurrent dreams, flashbacks and hallucinations. The Veteran recalled being informed during one of his psychiatric sessions at VA that PTSD was connected to his current health condition. See Statement in Support of Claim, May 2014. More recently, and in an effort to revive the operation of his business after his stroke, the Veteran attempted to renew his CDL license. See Hearing Transcript, page 3, August 2017. The Veteran reports that he failed the physical examination to obtain his CDL license and, thus, would no longer be able to operate his business as a result of his failing health and PTSD. See Hearing Transcript, page 3, August 2017. The Board finds that the evidence demonstrates that the Veteran has been unable to follow a substantially gainful occupation since he is now unable to maintain his business due to his service-connected PTSD. The Veteran is competent to report symptoms of memory loss, depression, frequent nightmares, the inability to handle his own affairs and disorientation to place and time. See Jandreau v. Nicholson, 492 F.3d 1372 (Fed. Cir. 2007). The Board finds that the current symptoms experienced by the Veteran make it clear that his inability to follow a substantially gainful occupation is as a result of PTSD. Thus, resolving all reasonable doubt in the Veteran’s favor, the Board finds that TDIU is warranted. STEVEN D. REISS Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD T. Jones, Associate Counsel