Citation Nr: 21003649 Decision Date: 01/22/21 Archive Date: 01/22/21 DOCKET NO. 17-00 346 DATE: January 22, 2021 REMANDED A total disability rating due to individual unemployability (TDIU) as a result of service-connected disabilities is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran had active service from July 1969 to January 1972. Service connection is in effect for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), rated 30 percent disabling, effective September 29, 2009; a 100 percent rating took effective on February 27, 2013, and then a 70 percent evaluation was assigned effective June 1, 2013. A temporary total rating pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 4.29 was assigned from February 27, 2013 to May 31, 2013. The Veteran has claimed a TDIU due to his service-connected PTSD. Initially, the Veteran has reported receiving Social Security Administration (SSA) benefits, but it is not clear whether this is for disability purposes. The Veteran’s SSA records should be requested and associated with the claims folder. An October 2012 C&P PTSD examination reflects that the Veteran retired the prior year from his employment as a drywall finisher. The examiner checked the box indicating that he has difficulty in establishing and maintaining effective work and social relationships. A March 2013 VA treatment record reflects the Veteran’s report of being unemployed. He reported that he retired in October 2012 after working 12 years as a drywall finisher. 04/16/2014 CAPRI at 243. In his September 2014 VA Form 21-8940 Veterans Application for Increased Compensation Based on Unemployability, the Veteran asserted that he became too disabled to work on October 10, 2011; prior to this he was employed full-time as a drywall finisher. An April 2014 C&P PTSD examination reflects the Veteran’s report that he retired two years prior as a drywall finisher due to medical conditions, specifically arthritis in his back and knees. The examiner checked the boxes indicating that he has difficulty in establishing and maintaining effective work and social relationships and difficulty in adapting to stressful circumstances, including work or a worklike setting, but the examiner did not provide any comment regarding his ability to maintain gainful employment due to his PTSD. The examiner found that he has occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas, such as work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking and/or mood. A July 2015 C&P PTSD examination reflects the Veteran’s report that he retired 5 years prior as drywall finisher. Prior to this, he worked at a tire company. The examiner stated that the Veteran had a good work history and denied significant problems in his working career. The examiner found that he had good understanding and memory, good sustained concentration and persistence, good social interaction, and fair adaptation. A September 2015 evaluation completed by a social worker at the Trauma Recovery and Education Counseling Center contains an outline of the difficulties the Veteran encountered while working to include hypervigilance, irritability, and difficulty working with others, which included assertions of harassment by others. He reported that he drank to cope and carried a gun. The examiner stated that the Veteran is susceptible to any type of harassment or joking and has threatened people on the jobs. He cannot follow complex directions and does not have physical strength to lift drywall without the help of others which would potentially trigger him. The examiner opined that he meets the criteria for unemployability. At the September 2020 Board hearing, the Veteran testified that while working his co-workers would intentionally startle him and he would experience anger and outbursts when at work. His employers put him in areas away from others. While the PTSD examinations of record contain findings that the Veteran would have difficulty establishing and maintaining work relationships, the reports do not contain any report or reference to the Veteran’s reported employment difficulties as it relates to his PTSD. Based on the lay assertions of the Veteran and the September 2015 evaluation, the Board has determined that an opinion must be sought as to the effect his PTSD has on his ability to maintain employment. Also, on Remand, the Veteran should attempt to clarify the date he last worked full-time. The matter is REMANDED for the following actions: 1. Request that the Veteran complete VA Form 21-8940 Veterans Application for Increased Compensation Based on Unemployability, to clarify the date he last worked full-time. 2. Request the Veteran’s records from the SSA and associate the records with the claims folder. 3. Schedule the Veteran for a psychiatric examination with a psychologist or psychiatrist to evaluate the impact the Veteran’s service-connected PTSD has on his ability to function in an occupational setting. The claims folder should be made available to the examiner to be reviewed in conjunction with the examination. (Continued on the next page)   The examiner should comment on the Veteran’s ability to function in an occupational environment; document any education and work experience reported by the Veteran during the examination; and/or, describe any functional impairment caused by his service-connected PTSD. Consideration is to be given to the opinions of record, to include the September 2015 evaluation. A comprehensive rationale is to be provided for all opinions expressed. Eric S. Leboff Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board M.W. Kreindler, 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.