Citation Nr: 21010158 Decision Date: 02/24/21 Archive Date: 02/24/21 DOCKET NO. 15-12 462 DATE: February 24, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) prior to March 20, 2012 is denied. FINDING OF FACT From April 5, 2011 and prior to March 20, 2012, the Veteran is in receipt of a combined 100 percent disability rating for all of his service-connected disabilities, with no single service-connected disability rated as 100 percent disabling, and the preponderance of the evidence of record does not weigh in favor of a finding that any one of the Veteran’s service disabilities alone render him unemployable prior to March 20, 2012. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for a TDIU have not been met for any period on appeal prior to March 20, 2012. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1155, 5107 (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.340, 3.341, 4.16, 4.25, 4.26 (2019). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran had active service from June 1969 to December 1971. This matter was previously remanded by the Board in May 2020. Therein, the Board noted that the Veteran’s TDIU claim prior to March 20, 2012 was considered part and parcel of his claim for an increased rating for neuropathy, which was filed on April 5, 2011. See Rice v. Shinseki, 22 Vet. App. 447 (2009); see also Harper v. Wilkie, 30 Vet. App. 356 (2018). As there has been substantial compliance with prior remand directives, the matter is properly returned to the Board for adjudication. Entitlement to a TDIU prior to March 20, 2012. The record reflects that the Veteran filed a formal application for a TDIU (VA Form 21-8940, Application for Increased Compensation Based on Unemployability) on March 20, 2012. After the initial RO denial in January 2015, entitlement to a TDIU was ultimately granted in March 2017, with an effective date of March 20, 2012 assigned, based upon the date of receipt of his formal TDIU application. In the July 2020 correspondence, the Veteran argue that he is entitled to an earlier effective date, asserting that he has not worked since 2009 due to his service-connected disabilities and that his appeal before the Board has been pending prior to the currently assigned effective date. As noted above, although the Veteran’s formal claim for a TDIU was not received until March 2012, the Board finds that the Veteran’s TDIU claim prior to March 20, 2012 was considered part and parcel of his claim for an increased rating for neuropathy, which was filed on April 5, 2011. See Rice v. Shinseki, 22 Vet. App. 447 (2009); see also Harper v. Wilkie, 30 Vet. App. 356 (2018). As such, the relevant issue before the Board is whether a TDIU is warranted for any period from April 5, 2011 and prior to March 20, 2012. For the entire period on appeal prior to March 20, 2012, including from April 5, 2011, the combined disability rating for the Veteran’s service-connected disabilities has been 100 percent, a total schedular rating. The Board notes that a grant of a 100 percent schedular rating does not necessarily render the issue of entitlement to a TDIU rating moot, as a TDIU rating could, in certain circumstances, render the Veteran eligible for special monthly compensation (SMC). SMC may be warranted if the Veteran has a 100 percent disabling rating for a single disability, and VA finds that a TDIU rating is warranted based solely on disabilities other than the disability that is rated at 100 percent. See Buie v. Shinseki, 24 Vet. App. 242 (2011); Bradley v. Peake, 22 Vet. App. 280 (2008). However, the Board notes that no single service-connected disability is rated as 100 percent disabling and the preponderance of the evidence of record does not weigh in favor of a finding that any one of the Veteran’s service disabilities alone render him unemployable prior to March 20, 2012. Notably, the March 2017 rating decision which first granted TDIU effective March 20, 2012 found that the Veteran was unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation as a result of service-connected disabilities to include his heart disease, diabetes, and complications of peripheral neuropathy and artery disease of the bilateral lower extremities. Given the above, the Board finds that entitlement to a TDIU rating is moot for the period on appeal prior to March 20, 2012. As the preponderance of the evidence weighs against the Veteran’s claim, there is no reasonable doubt to be resolved, and the claim is denied. D. C. JOHNSON Acting Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board A. J. Kim, 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.