Citation Nr: 21066265
Decision Date: 10/29/21	Archive Date: 10/29/21

DOCKET NO. 13-23 275
DATE: October 29, 2021

REMANDED 

Entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities (TDIU) prior to March 30, 2018, is remanded.

Entitlement to TDIU from June 1, 2019, is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from May 1974 to May 1977 and from November 1990 to May 1991.

In a May 2020 decision, the Board denied a claim for entitlement to TDIU prior to June 1, 2019, and remanded a claim for entitlement to TDIU from June 1, 2019.  In an August 2020 decision, the Board denied the claim for entitlement to TDIU from June 1, 2019.  The Veteran appealed the denial of the claim for entitlement to TDIU from June 1, 2019, to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court).  In a February 2021 Joint Motion for Remand (JMR), the Veteran and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs requested to vacate the Board's denial of the claim for entitlement to TDIU from June 1, 2019, and to remand the issue for readjudication.  In March 2021, the Court granted the JMR and remanded the matter for action consistent with the JMR's terms.

In a separate September 2021 Joint Motion for Partial Remand (JMPR), the Veteran and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs requested to vacate the Board's May 2020 denial of entitlement to TDIU prior to March 30, 2018, and to remand the issue for readjudication.  In September 2021, the Court granted the JMPR and remanded the matter for action consistent with the JMPR's terms.  (The Board notes that the period from March 30, 2018, to May 31, 2019, was not a part of this motion.) 

In response the February 2021 JMR and the September 2021 JMPR, the representative submitted statements in June 2021 and October 2021 requesting that the Board remand the appeal to the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) in order to allow initial review of newly submitted evidence.  In light of this request to have the AOJ review a newly submitted private vocational assessment, the Board will remand this issue for AOJ consideration. 

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

1. Associate with the claims file all outstanding treatment records from August 2021 to the present. 

2. Then, readjudicate the claims.  If the benefits sought on appeal remain denied, the Veteran and his representative should be provided a supplemental statement of the case (SSOC) addressing these issues.

 

 

MICHELLE L. KANE

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	L. Durham, 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.