Citation Nr: 21069801 Decision Date: 11/19/21 Archive Date: 11/19/21 DOCKET NO. 14-13 069 DATE: November 19, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities (TDIU) is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran had active duty service from April 1972 to February 1974. He testified before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge (VLJ) at a Travel Board hearing in October 2018. A transcript of the hearing is of record. In May 2019, the Board denied the Veteran's claims for a rating higher than 50 percent for PTSD and an effective date earlier than September 9, 2016, for the grant of service connection for PTSD. The Board also remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for peripheral neuropathy, an increased rating for a right ring finger disability, and TDIU. The Veteran appealed the denials to the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). Pursuant to an April 2020 Joint Motion for Partial Remand (JMPR), those issues were returned to the Board. In October 2020, the Board again denied the claims for an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for PTSD and a higher rating for PTSD, as well as, a claim for a higher rating for a scar. The Board remanded claims for service connection peripheral neuropathy of the right upper extremity and entitlement to a TDIU. The Veteran appealed only the denial of a higher rating for PTSD to the Court, and an April 2021 JMPR returned the PTSD increased rating claim to the Board to address the Veteran's reported hallucinations. In February 2021, the Board denied a TDIU and denied service connection for right upper extremity peripheral neuropathy. In a July 2021 JMPR, the Court remanded the issue of a TDIU. The Court did not disturb the denial of service connection for right upper extremity peripheral neuropathy. The TDIU has just returned to the Board. However, in August 2021 Board, the Board remanded the claim for an increased rating for PTSD for additional development. In an October 2021 rating decision, the RO granted a 100 percent disability rating for PTSD, effective September 30, 2021. This was a full grant of the claim, from September 30, 2021. The period of the increased rating for PTSD prior to September 30, 2021, however is still on appeal. The increased rating issue has not yet returned to the Board, and will therefore be addressed at a later date. 1. Entitlement to a TDIU is remanded. As noted in the Introduction, the claim for a disability rating higher than 50 percent for PTSD, prior to September 30, 2021, is not yet before the Board. Because a decision on the PTSD issue could significantly impact a decision on the issue of TDIU, the issues are inextricably intertwined. A remand of the claim for TDIU is required. The Board also notes that since the February 2021 Board denial of a TDIU additional VA generated medical records and a September 2021 VA examination have been associated with the claims file, that is not duplicative of evidence already discussed in the statement of the case or a supplemental statement of the case (SSOC). As such, the AOJ must prepare a SSOC reviewing that evidence. 38 C.F.R. § 19.31(b)(1). The matters are REMANDED for the following action: The AOJ should defer consideration of this case for entitlement to a TDIU until it has completed consideration of the claim for an increased rating for PTSD, prior to September 30, 2021. The AOJ should consider any additional evidence associated with the record since the November 2020 SSOC (to include VA medical records and the September 2021 VA examination). If the claim is not fully granted, the issuance of a SSOC is required. See 38 C.F.R. § 19.31. H.M. WALKER Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board A. Lindio 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.