Citation Nr: 20046986 Decision Date: 07/14/20 Archive Date: 07/14/20 DOCKET NO. 17-47 416 DATE: July 14, 2020 ORDER Entitlement to a TDIU prior to July 24, 2018 is granted. FINDING OF FACT The preponderance of the evidence weighs for finding that the Veteran has been unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation as a result of service-connected disabilities prior to July 24, 2018. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for entitlement to a TDIU prior to July 24, 2018 have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1155, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.340, 3.341, 4.16, 4.19, 4.25. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Army from October 1989 to September 1993. Entitlement to a TDIU was adjudicated in a March 2019 Board decision which found a TDIU not to be warranted prior to July 24, 2018 and held that the issue is moot from July 24, 2018 due to the grant of a 100 percent rating for PTSD from that date. The issue of entitlement to a TDIU prior to July 24, 2018 was remanded back to the Board in a January 2020 U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court) Joint Motion for Partial Remand (JMPR). This appeal is back before the Board for readjudication considering the Court’s findings of error. Entitlement to a TDIU prior to July 24, 2018 Legal Criteria TDIU may be assigned when the disabled person is unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation as a result of service-connected disabilities, provided that the Veteran meets the schedular requirements. If there is only one service-connected disability, this disability should be rated at 60 percent or more, if there are two or more disabilities, at least one should be rated at 40 percent or more with sufficient additional service-connected disability to bring the combination to 70 percent or more. Marginal employment shall not be considered substantially gainful employment. 38 C.F.R. § 4.16 (a). Factual Background & Analysis The Veteran has had a combined disability rating of at least 80 percent with a 70 percent rating for PTSD from June 14, 2013 onward and has therefore met the schedular criteria for a TDIU from that date. 38 C.F.R. § 4.16 (a). A 100 percent rating for PTSD was granted from July 24, 2018 onward. Consequently, the issue of entitlement to a TDIU prior to that date remains on appeal. In a March 2020 statement, the Veteran explained that he has not worked at all since August 2014 and last worked full-time in August 2013. The Veteran detailed how between March 2013 to August 2014 he worked as a contract laborer, but his PTSD caused him to be unable to manage the stress of managing deadlines. Eventually management for that position told him to move on. He further described missing 1 to 2 days of work a week and being unproductive because of his PTSD. After leaving this position the Veteran worked for approximately 30 days a year for his brother’s company but could not maintain the work due to his PTSD symptoms. He then attempted to volunteer with his local Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) chapter but could not manage that for more than 3 months. The Veteran commented on a notation in a medical record from 2017 which stated that he was returning to work explaining that he was referring to retiling his bathroom and had not resumed employment of any kind. An April 2020 psychologist’s opinion stated after a review of the evidence that the Veteran is unable to handle the stress of full-time employment because it exacerbates his PTSD symptoms and causes his to decompensate. The opinion also references a 2014 VA psychological examination which notes that the Veteran recently quit his job due to anger, irritability, trouble focusing and poor sleep. Ultimately, the psychologist opined that the Veteran’s PTSD has rendered him unable to maintain gainful employment since he stopped working full-time in August 2013. In light of the foregoing, the Board finds that the preponderance of the evidence weighs for finding that the Veteran has been unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation as a result of his service-connected disabilities prior to July 24, 2018. 38 U.S.C.§ 5107 (b); 38 C.F.R. § 3.102; Gilbert, supra. Jennifer White Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Kyle McKone 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.