Citation Nr: 21006204 Decision Date: 02/03/21 Archive Date: 02/03/21 DOCKET NO. 20-17 304 DATE: February 3, 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 served on active duty in the Army from June 1968 to June 1970. This matter is on appeal from a January 2014 rating decision. This issue was previously remanded by the Board in June 2018 for the issuance of a Statement of the Case (SOC). The Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) did so in January 2019 and the Veteran perfected an appeal in March 2019. There was substantial compliance with the remand directives with regard to the issue being decided below. See Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998). In its June 2018 decision, the Board also remanded claims for service connection for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes mellitus for the issuance of an SOC. The AOJ did so in January 2019, but the Veteran did not perfect an appeal.  These issues are no longer before the Board.  1. Entitlement to a TDIU is remanded. VA will grant a total disability rating when the evidence shows that a veteran is precluded, by reason of service-connected disabilities, from securing and following substantially gainful employment consistent with his education and occupational experience. 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.340, 3.341, 4.16 (2020). The regulations provide that if there is only one such disability, it must be rated at 60 percent or more; and if there are two or more disabilities, at least one disability must be rated at 40 percent or more, and sufficient additional disability must bring the combined rating to 70 percent or more. Disabilities resulting from common etiology or a single accident or disabilities affecting a single body system will be considered as one disability for the purposes meeting the requirement of one 60 percent disability or one 40 percent disability. 38 C.F.R. § 4.16 (a). The Veteran’s current combined disability rating is 50 percent: his meniscal condition with episodes of locking, pain, and effusion is rated 20 percent disabling in each knee and his chondromalacia patella with degenerative joint disease is rated 10 percent disabling in each knee. The criteria for consideration of a schedular TDIU are not met. If a veteran does not meet the applicable percentage standards set forth in 38 C.F.R. § 4.16 (a), the issue of entitlement to a TDIU may be submitted to the Director of the Compensation Service for extraschedular consideration where the Veteran is unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation by reason of service-connected disability. 38 C.F.R. § 4.16 (b); Fanning v. Brown, 4 Vet. App. 225 (1993). Because the Veteran’s employment and income history during the period on appeal are unclear from the evidence of record, the AOJ should request this information from the Veteran.  In the interest of avoiding the need for future remands, the AOJ should also refer the Veteran’s claim to consider an extraschedular TDIU. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Provide the Veteran with notice concerning how to substantiate the claim for a TDIU, to include providing him with a VA Form 21-8940.  2. Refer the Veteran’s TDIU claim to the Director of the Compensation Service for consideration of entitlement to a TDIU on an extraschedular basis, pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 4.16 (b). 3. Ensure that the directives specified in this remand have been implemented.  If they have not, appropriate corrective action must be undertaken before readjudication. Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998).  4. Then, readjudicate the claim.  If the decision is unfavorable to the Veteran, issue a Supplemental Statement of the Case and allow the applicable time for response.  Then, return the case to the Board. D. Martz Ames Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Ryan Frank, 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.