Citation Nr: 21002840
Decision Date: 01/15/21	Archive Date: 01/15/21

DOCKET NO. 14-26 926
DATE: January 15, 2021

REMANDED

A rating higher than 50 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and anxiety disorder is remanded.

Entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to the service-connected PTSD and anxiety disorder is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran had active duty service from February 1967 to November 1970.

These matters come before the Board of Veterans Appeals (Board) on appeal from a rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in February 2014, which continued a 50 percent rating assigned for PTSD and anxiety disorder. A transcript of the Veteran’s July 2015 testimony at a videoconference hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge is of record.

The Board denied the claim for a rating higher than 50 percent for PTSD and anxiety disorder in September 2018. The Veteran appealed that decision to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). In an August 2019 Joint Motion for Remand, the parties requested that the Court vacate the September 2018 Board decision that denied entitlement to a rating higher than 50 percent for PTSD and anxiety disorder. The Court granted the Joint Motion in an August 2019 Order. The issue of entitlement to a TDIU pursuant to Rice v. Shinseki, 22 Vet. App. 447 (2009), was raised following the Veteran’s appeal to the Court and has been included as an issue in this decision.

1. A rating higher than 50 percent for PTSD and anxiety disorder is remanded.

2. Entitlement to a TDIU due to the service-connected PTSD and anxiety disorder is remanded.

The Board finds that updated VA treatment records and a contemporaneous          VA examination would be helpful in this case. Development is also needed           in conjunction with the VA Form 21-8940 filed in conjunction with the claim           for increased rating rather than as a freestanding claim. The Board also finds additional information is needed to determine the Veteran’s occupational income during the period of the claim on appeal. This is especially important since the issue of marginal employment has been raised by his attorney.

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

1. Obtain VA treatment records dated since July 21, 2016.

2. Request that the Veteran’s former employers on the VA Form 21-8940 complete a VA Form 21-4192, Request for Employment Information in Connection with Claim for Disability Benefits.

3. Contact the Veteran and request that he provide proof of his annual salary since November 2012, such as copies of salary statements, wage receipts, W-2s, and/or tax returns for each year.

4. Schedule the Veteran for a VA examination to determine the current severity of the PTSD and anxiety disorder. The claims file should be reviewed by the examiner. All symptomatology should be reported. The examiner is asked to discuss the impact that the service-connected PTSD and anxiety disorder has on his ability to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.

5. Readjudicate the claims, to include entitlement to a TDIU due to the service-connected PTSD and anxiety disorder with consideration of marginal employment. If the claims remain denied, issue a supplemental statement of the case.

 

 

K. A. BANFIELD

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	D. Van Wambeke, 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.