Citation Nr: 21062214
Decision Date: 10/06/21	Archive Date: 10/06/21

DOCKET NO. 14-41 498
DATE: October 6, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to service-connected disabilities prior to December 23, 2018 is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served honorably in the United States Air Force from October 1951 to June 1972.

This issue comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a June 2011 rating decision issued by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO).

In August 2018, the Veteran testified at a Board hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge.  The transcript is of record.

The Board remanded the case in November 2020 for further development, which, regarding the Veteran's TDIU, has been completed.  Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268, 271 (1998).

The Veteran contends that he is entitled to a TDIU as a result of his service-connected disabilities.  A TDIU claim, either expressly raised by a veteran or reasonably raised by the record, involves an attempt to obtain an appropriate rating for a disability and is part of the claim for an increased rating.  Rice v. Shinseki, 22 Vet. App. 447 (2009).  At his Board hearing, the Veteran testified that he was unable to work due to his service-connected psychiatric disability.  As such, a claim of entitlement to TDIU has been raised.

A December 2010 medical note indicates that the Veteran retired and was "put on disability."  The only Social Security Administration ( SSA ) documentation in the file is an itemized statement of earnings that spans the period of January 1972 to December 2010.  Based on a review of the case file, the Board finds that remand for additional development is necessary to decide the claim of entitlement to TDIU.  On remand, the AOJ should attempt to obtain any existing SSA records used to determine that the Veteran is disabled.

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

1. The AOJ should determine whether the Veteran has ever filed an application for Social Security Administration (SSA) disability benefits and, if so, obtain all medical records associated with that claim to include an SSA disability determinations letter.

2. The AOJ should request all updated treatment records and document all attempts to obtain those from private sources.  The AOJ should notify the Veteran if unsuccessful and afford him the opportunity to provide the records.

 

 

G. A. WASIK

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	V. Schmidt

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.