Citation Nr: 21075803
Decision Date: 12/21/21	Archive Date: 12/21/21

DOCKET NO. 12-33 387A
DATE: December 21, 2021

REMANDED

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

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from September 2001 to March 2006, to include service in the Southwest Asia Theater of Operations.  The Veteran was awarded a Combat Medical Badge, among other decorations.

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a June 2011 rating decision that denied an increase for the Veteran's service-connected posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  A claim for a TDIU was part and parcel of the Veteran's claim for an increased rating for PTSD.  See Rice v. Shinseki, 22 Vet. App. 447, 453-54 (2009).

In November 2017, the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) remanded the issue on appeal for additional development.  

The Veteran's claim was denied by the Board in August 2019.  The Veteran appealed the Board's decision to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court).  In a September 2020 Joint Motion for Partial Remand (JMPR), the parties agreed to remand and vacate that part of the Board's August 2019 decision denying entitlement to TDIU.  The Court, in a September 2020 order, granted the JMPR, vacating the Board's decision as to the issue of entitlement to TDIU, and remanding the matter to the Board for further development consistent with the terms of the JMPR.

Entitlement to a TDIU due to service-connected disabilities is remanded.

The Veteran's September 2021 TDIU application reflects that he was last employed in September 2009 and that he went to school from August 2018 and September 2019.  Additional evidence of record shows that the Veteran was employed in 2016.  See September 2018 VA Treatment Records and January 2019 VA Examination.  It is unclear if the Veteran was able to obtain substantially gainful employment during this period or how many credit hours he completed while in school.  Accordingly, the Board must obtain further information regarding the Veteran's past employment status and the circumstances of his employment, to include the Veteran's pay stubs, W2 Forms, tax returns, letters from employers, and transcripts.  Further, on remand, the Veteran should be provided new examinations to determine if his service-connected disabilities render him unemployable.  

The matter is REMANDED for the following action:

1. Assist the Veteran with uploading updated treatment records.

2. Request that the Veteran submit evidence (e.g., pay stubs, W2 Forms, tax returns, letters from employers, school transcripts, etc.) documenting marginal employment, if any, due to his service-connected disabilities.

3. Then, schedule the Veteran for an examination[s] by an appropriate clinician[s] regarding the current severity of his service-connected PTSD, exercise induced asthma, and migraine headaches disabilities.  The examiner should elicit from the Veteran his complete educational, vocational, and employment history and should note his complaints regarding the impact of his disabilities, particularly his PTSD, on employment.  The examiner should identify all limitations or functional impairment caused solely by PTSD, exercise induced asthma, and migraine headaches.

4. If upon completion of the above the issue remains denied, the appeal should be returned to the Board after compliance with appellate procedures. 

 

 

L. BARSTOW

Acting Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	R. Gandhi, 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.