Citation Nr: 20002197 Decision Date: 01/09/20 Archive Date: 01/09/20 DOCKET NO. 11-30 388 DATE: January 9, 2020 REMANDED The claim of entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to service-connected disabilities is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND Total Disability Rating Based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU) The Veteran served in the U.S. Army from August 1968 to January 1971. This case comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) based on an appeal from a July 2010 rating decision by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Veteran filed a notice of disagreement (NOD) in May 2011. A statement of the case (SOC) was issued on November 1, 2011, and the Veteran perfected his appeal on November 14, 2011. This case was last before the Board on September 7, 2018. In the September 2018 Board decision, the Board issued a final decision in which they increased the Veteran’s evaluation of a post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) disability from 30 percent to 70 percent, effective January 30, 2009. The issue of PTSD is not currently before the Board. In the September 2018 Board decision, the Board also found that the issue of entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to service-connected disabilities had been reasonably raised by the record. The Board remanded the issue of entitlement to a TDIU because the Veteran had not filed a VA Form 21-8940 Application for Increased Compensation Based on Unemployability and the claims file did not contain necessary information that would be provided by that form; and the issue of TDIU had not been addressed by the RO. Thus, the Board remanded the issue of entitlement to a TDIU in order for the RO to request that the Veteran complete a formal TDIU application form (VA Form 21-8940) and for the RO to adjudicate the issue of entitlement to a TDIU. This matter has now been returned to the Board. However, because certain adjudicatory documents are missing from the record, it is difficult to ascertain the status of the Veteran’s claim or whether all the remand directives from the September 2018 Board decision were substantially complied with. See Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998). Thus, the Board finds that additional development is necessary prior to further Board adjudication of the Veteran’s claim of entitlement to a TDIU. On September 12, 2018, five days after the above-mentioned September 7, 2018 Board decision, the Veteran submitted a VA Form 21-8940 Application for Increased Compensation Based on Unemployability. According to the claims file information on VACOLS, the RO issued a supplementary statement of the case (SSOC) on the issue of entitlement to a TDIU on August 17, 2019. However, the claims file does not currently include an August 17, 2019 SSOC concerning the issue of entitlement to a TDIU. Thus, the RO must ensure that the SSOC is associated with the claims file. Additionally, the Board notes that, in a Notification Letter from September 19, 2019, the RO states that, in a Rating Decision dated August 17, 2019, the evaluation of PTSD (which had been 30 percent disabling) was increased to 70 percent, effective January 30, 2009. This August 17, 2019 rating decision was in accordance with the aforementioned determination in the September 2018 Board decision. However, the record does not currently include the August 17, 2019 rating decision concerning the award of a 70 percent disability evaluation for a PTSD disability. Thus, the RO must ensure that this rating decision is associated with the claims file. The Board also notes that the most recent Rating Decision Codesheet currently included in the claims file (dated August 7, 2019) does not show the above-mentioned award of a 70 percent evaluation for a PTSD disability, effective January 30, 2009. Thus, the RO must ensure that the latest Codesheet with the updated rating information is associated with the claims file. Therefore, remand is warranted for the RO to associate the above missing documents, as well as any other relevant outstanding documents in VA’s possession, with the claims file and ensure that the issue of entitlement to a TDIU has been appropriately adjudicated. Accordingly, the matter is REMANDED for the following actions: 1. The Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) must associate all missing adjudicatory documents with the claims file. This includes the supplementary statement of the case (SSOC) from August 17, 2009 on the issue of entitlement to a total disability evaluation based on individual unemployability (TDIU), as well as the rating decision from August 17, 2009 on the issue of an increased disability rating for a post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) disability. This may also include a rating decision codesheet with the latest accurate disability rating information concerning the Veteran. 2. The AOJ must assist the Veteran in procuring any outstanding available VA medical treatment records concerning the Veteran that are not yet associated with the claims file. (Continued on the next page)   3. After all the relevant missing or outstanding documents and records (as described above) have been associated with the claims file, the AOJ should re-adjudicate the issue of entitlement to a TDIU as appropriate. JAMES G. REINHART Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Department of Veterans Affairs The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.