Citation Nr: 20008488 Decision Date: 01/31/20 Archive Date: 01/31/20 DOCKET NO. 19-22 757 DATE: January 31, 2020 REMANDED Entitlement to an initial rating greater than 70 percent for service-connected posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is remanded. Entitlement to a total disability rating, based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to service-connected PTSD, is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The appellant served on active duty in the United States Air Force from June 1983 to March 1987. This case comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a December 2017 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) which, in pertinent part, reopened the previously denied claim for service connection for PTSD. The claim was granted and the appellant’s PTSD was assigned a 70 percent rating, effective July 25, 2017. The appellant’s notice of disagreement (NOD) was received by VA in February 2018. A Statement of the Case (SOC) was issued by VA in June 2019. VA received the appellant’s Substantive Appeal (Form 9) in July 2019. 1. Entitlement to an initial rating greater than 70 percent for service-connected posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is remanded. 2. Entitlement to a total disability rating, based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to service-connected PTSD, is remanded. The appellant contends that her service-connected PTSD was more disabling than initially rated, that it has worsened since her last VA examination, and is now preventing her from working. After a review of the evidence of record, the Board finds that further development is necessary prior to adjudicating this claim on appeal. In her July 2019 Form 9, the appellant contended that her PTSD symptoms had worsened to the point that they prevented her from driving for Uber. The Board finds that this raises the question of entitlement to TDIU. See Rice v. Shinseki, 22 Vet. App. 447 (2009) (holding that a claim for TDIU, either expressly raised by the appellant or raised by the record, is not a separate “claim” for benefits, but rather, is part and parcel of the claim for an increased rating) Considering this, the Board finds that remand is necessary to afford the appellant a VA examination to determine the current severity of her disability, to include the level of impairment it causes in her occupational and social functioning, and to determine its impact on her ability to obtain or maintain gainful employment. In the expanded scope of this inquiry, the Board notes that VA treatment records from May 2019 also indicate the appellant is currently receiving social security disability payments. Records from as long ago as July 2009 indicate that she has been on social security disability continuously since at least that time. The Board finds these records are relevant to the current inquiry and that remand is necessary to obtain the appellant’s social security disability records. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Request that the appellant complete and submit a VA Form 21-8940 (Veteran’s Application for Increased Compensation Based on Unemployability). 2. Obtain the appellant’s federal records from the Social Security Administration. Document all requests for information as well as all responses in the claims file. 3. Schedule the appellant for an examination by an appropriate clinician to determine the current severity of her service-connected PTSD. The examiner should provide a full description of the disability and report all signs and symptoms necessary for evaluating the appellant’s disability under the rating criteria. The examiner must attempt to elicit information regarding the severity, frequency, and duration of symptoms. To the extent possible, the examiner should identify any symptoms and social and occupational impairment due to service-connected PTSD alone. However, the examiner should discuss any impacts on the appellant’s bipolar and mood disorders due to her service-connected PTSD symptoms. The examiner should also opine on the appellant’s level of occupational and functional impairment due to her service-connected PTSD. K. Conner Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board K. Kleponis, 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.