Citation Nr: 20003124 Decision Date: 01/15/20 Archive Date: 01/14/20 DOCKET NO. 16-29 764 DATE: January 15, 2020 REMAND Entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to service-connected disabilities is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from February 1965 to September 1968. This case comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from an August 2015 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In October 2019, the Veteran provided testimony before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge. A transcript of the record is associated with the claims file. Entitlement to a TDIU due to service-connected disabilities is remanded. The Veteran contends that he is unable to obtain gainful employment due to his service-connected coronary artery disease (CAD), currently evaluated as 60 percent disabling from September 12, 2011. The Veteran’s other service-connected disabilities include tinnitus, rated as 10 percent disabling from July 19, 2013, and hearing loss, rated as 0 percent disabling from July 19, 2013. Therefore, the Veteran does not meet the schedular criteria for TDIU during the entire rating period on appeal. See 38 U.S.C. § 5110 (a); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.400, 4.16(a). Even when the percentage requirements of 38 C.F.R. § 4.16 (a) are not met, a TDIU may be granted on an extraschedular basis in exceptional cases when the Veteran is unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation by reason of a service-connected disability. 38 C.F.R. § 4.16 (b). The Board cannot award TDIU on this basis in the first instance. Bowling v. Principi, 15 Vet. App. 1, 10 (2001). Here, there is evidence of record suggesting unemployability. As a matter of background, the Veteran finished high school with a GED. He took an NRI correspondence course in lawnmower mechanics and air condition repair. Following separation from service in 1968, the Veteran worked as a carpenter, mechanic, a truck driver for 25 years, and a lawnmower mechanic for 12 years. See December 2007 and July 2011 Social Security Administration (SSA) records. For the most part, these jobs are heavy in physical labor and semi-skilled. In his November 2016 VA Form 21-4138, the Veteran reported he became too disabled to work due to his service-connected CAD and had to close his engine repair shop in October 2010. The Veteran reported experiencing shortness of breath, lack of energy, and chest pains. The Veteran further reported the inability to work during the last several years due to his heart condition. However, the Veteran reported that he currently works part time repairing lawnmowers. See May 2015 VA examination. In his March 2015 application for TDIU, the Veteran reported earning a maximum of $8,000 as a self-employed owner of an engine repair shop in 2010, the year he contends he became too disabled to work. During the October 2019 hearing, the Veteran testified that his heart condition caused him to become dizzy and fall to the ground. He further reported that he was unable to do yardwork due to breathing difficulties and that his doctor recommended he refrain from driving to avoid fainting behind the wheel. The relevant evidence also includes the May 2015 VA examination report in which the examiner determined that the Veteran’s CAD did not impact his ability to work. A July 2019 VA stress test record noted blood pressure changes with dizziness, as well as, light headedness resulting in complete loss of consciousness and periodic paralysis within the past 10 years. More notably, a November 2019 VA treatment record from nurse practitioner J.W.S. noted a review of the Veteran’s medical file and opined that given multi co-morbidities, the Veteran is unable to sustain gainful employment. These latter opinions suggest that that the Veteran may not function adequately to secure and sustain substantially gainful employment due to service-connected disabilities. Thus, in consideration of the evidence of record, the Board finds that the matter of entitlement to a TDIU should be referred to the Director of Compensation Service to determine if extraschedular consideration under 38 C.F.R. § 4.16 (b) is warranted. The matter is REMANDED for the following actions: 1. Refer the case to the Director of Compensation Service for an initial determination as to whether the Veteran was entitled to an extraschedular award based upon TDIU pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 4.16 (b). The rating board should include a full statement of all factors having a bearing on the issue. (Continued on the next page)   2. After completing the above, readjudicate the claim based on the all the evidence since it was last adjudicated. If the benefit sought on appeal remains denied, provide an additional supplemental statement of the case to the Veteran, and return the appeal to the Board for appellate review, after the Veteran and his representative have had an adequate opportunity to respond. L. CHU Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Y. Asfaw, Associate Counsel 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.