Citation Nr: 21001019 Decision Date: 01/06/21 Archive Date: 01/06/21 DOCKET NO. 19-16 613 DATE: January 6, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for depression as secondary to a back disability is denied. Entitlement to service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as secondary to a back disability is denied. Entitlement to a total rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to service-connected disabilities is denied. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The Veteran asserts that the diagnosed psychiatric disorders are secondary to a back disability. 2. The Veteran is not currently in receipt of service connection for a back disability as such award was recently severed. 3. The Veteran does not have any adjudicated service-connected disabilities. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. The criteria to establish service connection for PTSD are not met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5107 (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.310 (2019). 2. The criteria to establish service connection for depression are not met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5107 (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.310 (2019). 3. The criteria for a TDIU are not met. 38 U.S.C. § 1155 (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.340, 3.341, 4.15, 4.16, 4.18 (2019). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran served on active duty from February 25, 1999, to April 4, 1999. This appeal stems from a June 2018 rating decision that denied entitlement to service connection for PTSD and depression, as well as entitlement to a TDIU. In October 2020, the Veteran testified at a Virtual Hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge. A copy of the hearing transcript is of record and has been reviewed. Service Connection for PTSD and Depression Service connection may be established on a secondary basis for a disability which is proximately due to, or the result of, a service-connected disability. 38 C.F.R. § 3.310 (a) (2019). Secondary service connection may also be established for a disorder which is aggravated by a service-connected disability; compensation may be provided for the degree of disability (but only that degree) over and above the degree of disability existing prior to the aggravation. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.310(b) (2019); Allen v. Brown, 8 Vet. App. 374 (1995). The Veteran seeks service connection for psychiatric disorders. She does not assert, and the evidence does not show, that a back disability was incurred in service. Rather, the Veteran asserts that her psychiatric disorders are secondary to her back disability. Unfortunately, however, the record reflects that although the Veteran was previously in receipt of service connection for a back disability, that award was severed by the RO in a February 2018 rating decision. The Veteran then opted-in to the Rapid Appeals Modernization Program (RAMP), choosing a higher-level review. A July 2018 and June 2019 rating decisions found the severance proper. The Veteran did not appeal this decision. Consequently, because there is no underlying service-connected back disability, service connection for a psychiatric disorder on a secondary basis is not possible. In other words, service connection for PTSD and depression cannot be established under 38 C.F.R. § 3.310 as secondary to the non service-connected back disability. Therefore, entitlement to service connection on a secondary basis must be denied. The Board is very sympathetic to the Veteran’s argument; however, based on the facts of this case, this appeal must be denied. TDIU Claim (Continued on the next page)   TDIU may be assigned if the schedular rating is less than total when the disabled person is, in the judgment of the rating agency, unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation as a result of service-connected disabilities. 38 C.F.R. § 4.16. Presently, the Veteran in this case has no adjudicated service-connected disabilities. Accordingly, as a matter of law, there is no legal basis for a claim for a TDIU. 38 C.F.R. § 4.16. It is therefore denied. S. B. MAYS Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board A. Yaffe, 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.