Citation Nr: 21072555 Decision Date: 12/03/21 Archive Date: 12/03/21 DOCKET NO. 12-30 852A DATE: December 3, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to a total disability rating due to individual unemployability (TDIU) is denied. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran failed to complete a VA Form 21-8940 and the evidence is insufficient to establish that he is unemployable as a result of service-connected disabilities. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for entitlement to a TDIU are not met. 38 U.S.C. § 1155, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 4.16. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran had active duty service from December 1981 to December 1985. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from an August 2021 rating decision issued by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Veteran testified at a videoconference hearing in December 2013 before a Veterans Law Judge no longer employed by the Board. A transcript of the hearing is associated with the claims file. The law requires that the Veterans Law Judge who conducts a hearing on an appeal must participate in any decision made on that appeal. 38 U.S.C. § 7107(c) (2012); 38 C.F.R. § 20.707 (2017). In October 2021, the Board sent a letter to the Veteran, which explained that the Veterans Law Judge who presided over his hearing was no longer employed by the Board and offered the Veteran a hearing before a different Veterans Law Judge; otherwise, the case would be reassigned. He was instructed that if he did not respond to this letter within 30 days, the Board would assume that he did not wish to have another hearing before a Veterans Law Judge currently employed by the Board. The Veteran has not responded to the letter and the 30-day time period has expired. Thus, the Board will proceed with the matter on appeal. Entitlement to TDIU In the June 2021 Board decision, it was determined that the issue of entitlement to a TDIU was raised by the record. The claim was remanded to allow the Veteran to submit a completed VA Form 21-8940, Veteran's Application for Increased Compensation Based Upon Individual Unemployability. The Veteran was sent a letter in June 2021 that informed him of the evidence required to support a claim for TDIU, and requested that he complete and return VA Form 21-8940 in order to provide information about his employment history. No response was received from the Veteran. A substantially complete VA Form 21-8940 is required to establish entitlement to TDIU because it gathers relevant and indispensable information regarding a claimant's disabilities and employment and educational histories. While failure to complete the form is not fatal to a TDIU claim in and of itself, the failure to do so deprives the Board of information as to the Veteran's employment history, educational history and training, and income information necessary to properly address a claim for TDIU. The Veteran's failure to complete the VA Form 21-8940 leaves the Board without the ability to request information from his prior employers as to his reason for leaving employment and without sufficient evidence to assess his employment status for the appeal period. Because of the lack of cooperation with VA's attempt to develop the claim for TDIU that was raised by the record, the Board cannot adequately adjudicate the claim. See Wood v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 190, 193 (1991). Thus, the claim for TDIU must be denied. Cynthia M. Bruce Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board R. Nelson, Associate 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.