Citation Nr: 21070563 Decision Date: 11/24/21 Archive Date: 11/24/21 DOCKET NO. 15-25 498 DATE: November 24, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for bilateral upper extremity peripheral neuropathy is dismissed. REMANDED Entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to service-connected disabilities is remanded. FINDING OF FACT In an October 2021 Correspondence, the Veteran, through his representative, requested to withdraw his claim for entitlement to service connection for bilateral upper extremity peripheral neuropathy. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for withdrawal of an appeal for entitlement to service connection for bilateral upper extremity peripheral neuropathy are met. 38 U.S.C. § 7105; 38 C.F.R. § 19.55. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from November 1966 to November 1968. These matters come to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) from a January 2014 rating decision issued by the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ). In April 2019, the Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral upper extremity peripheral neuropathy and a TDIU. In June 2020, the Veteran appealed the Board decision to the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC). Later that month, the CAVC granted a Joint Motion for Partial Remand (JMR) vacating the portion of the Board's April 2019 decision that denied the Veteran's service connection claim for bilateral upper extremity peripheral neuropathy and a TDIU. The parties before CAVC found the Board did not support its decision with an adequate statement of reasons or bases. 1. Entitlement to service connection for bilateral upper extremity peripheral neuropathy. The Board may dismiss any appeal which fails to allege specific error of fact or law in the determination being appealed. 38 U.S.C. § 7105. An appeal may be withdrawn as to any or all issues involved in the appeal at any time before the Board promulgates a decision. Withdrawal may be made by the appellant or by his or her authorized representative. 38 C.F.R. § 19.55. In an October 2021 correspondence, the Veteran's attorney expressed that the Veteran wished to withdraw his service-connection claim for bilateral upper extremity peripheral neuropathy. See Appellate Brief at 1. As the Veteran has knowingly and voluntarily withdrawn the issue on appeal, there remain no allegations of fact or law for the Board to decide. Accordingly, the Board does not have jurisdiction to review the appeal of the issue and it is dismissed. REASONS FOR REMAND 1. Entitlement to a TDIU is remanded. The Veteran contends his service-connected disabilities, to include bilateral lower extremity peripheral neuropathy prevent him from maintaining a substantially gainful occupation. See February 2014 Notice of Disagreement (NOD) at 2. Although the Board regrets the delay, additional development is needed before the Board is able to decide the Veteran's TDIU claim. In his August 2012 application for a TDIU, he indicated he could no longer maintain a substantially gainful occupation as a truck driver due to one or more service-connected disability. See VA Form 21-8940; August 2013 VA PTSD DBQ at 5 (Noting the Veteran reported he runs his own business); January 2014 Statement in Support of Claim (Reporting he is self-employed as a truck driver). But he recently reported to the VA that he continues to work part time driving trucks. See January 2020 VA Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) DBQ at 3. The Board finds income information from December 2012 is needed to determine whether the Veteran had marginal employment during the appeal period. So, a remand is required to get employment and income information from the Veteran. The Board recognizes the Veteran has provided a Social Security Administration (SSA) earnings record from 1971 to 2019; however, the Veteran has provided income information that casts doubt on the reliability of the SSA statement. For example, the SSA statement shows the Veteran did not earn taxable income in 2012. See Earnings Record at 3. But the Veteran provided a January 2014 VA Form 21-485, Report of Income from Property or Business, showing he earned $74,373 from January to December 2012. Because the Veteran's own reports conflict with the income information recorded by the SSA, the Board finds it cannot rely on the SSA statement to evaluate the Veteran's earnings during the appeal period. The matter is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Ask the Veteran to provide income and employment information from December 2012. If applicable, obtain a VA Form 21-4192, Request for Employment Information for any period of time after December 2012 he earned income and was not self-employed. 2. Obtain a VA Form 21-485, Report of Income from Property or Business, for the period from December 2012. DAVID L. WIGHT Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Dean, Michael S. 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.