Citation Nr: 21007430 Decision Date: 02/09/21 Archive Date: 02/09/21 DOCKET NO. 15-08 837A DATE: February 9, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to a total rating for compensation purposes based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities (TDIU) is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from April 1966 to April 1968. In the August 2020 remand, the Board noted that the evidence raised a claim of entitlement to TDIU as a component of the claim for a higher rating for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Therefore, the Board took jurisdiction of the issue of entitlement to TDIU. Rice v. Shinseki, 22 Vet. App. 447 (2009). In July 2018, the Veteran and his spouse testified at a hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge. A copy of the transcript is of record. Entitlement to a total rating for compensation purposes based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities (TDIU) is remanded. Entitlement to TDIU requires an accurate assessment of the impairment associated with all service connected disabilities. January 2019 VA treatment records indicate that the Veteran receives treatment from a private cardiologist. However, those records have not been requested. On remand, private treatment records related to the service-connected disabilities should be requested to more accurately evaluate the Veteran’s occupational impairment. In a January 2021 brief, the Veteran’s representative states that the Veteran’s combined rating does not indicate the true loss of functional ability. On remand, a medical opinion should be obtained addressing the Veteran’s functional limitations throughout the appeal period. The Veteran has not returned a completed VA Form 21-8940, to provide necessary employment information to adjudicate the claim for TDIU. The Veteran should be provided the form and allowed another opportunity to return a completed form. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Ask the Veteran to complete a VA Form 21-4142 for each private healthcare provider, who has treated him for any service-connected disability, to include for a private cardiologist. Make two requests for the authorized records from all identified healthcare providers unless it is clear after the first request that a second request would be futile. 2. Ask the Veteran to complete VA Form 21-8940 and provide the relevant employment information for the claim for TDIU. 3. Obtain all VA treatment records not already of record and associate them with the claims file. 4. Schedule the Veteran for a VA examination to determine whether the Veteran is unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation due to the service-connected disabilities. The examiner must review the claims file and should note that review in the report. The examiner should opine whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent or greater probability) that the Veteran was unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation due to service-connected coronary artery disease, PTSD, and hypertension for the appeal periods prior to September 23, 2019, and as of September 23, 2019. If the Veteran is thought capable of work despite the service connected disabilities, the examiner should state what type of work and what accommodations would be necessary due to the service-connected disabilities. The examiner must review the record and offer a complete rationale for the opinion. 5. Then, readjudicate the claim for TDIU. For the period prior to September 23, 2019, if the evidence suggests that the Veteran was unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation due to the service-connected disabilities, refer the case to the Director of the Compensation Service to determine whether TDIU should be assigned prior to September 23, 2019, pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 4.16(b). Harvey P. Roberts Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals 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.