Citation Nr: 21010475 Decision Date: 02/24/21 Archive Date: 02/24/21 DOCKET NO. 14-37 661 DATE: February 24, 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 she 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 February 1992 to February 2012. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a July 2012 rating decision issued by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In the June 2013 Notice of Disagreement, the Veteran raised a claim for TDIU while the rating appeal was pending. In the May 2020 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 May 2020 that informed her of the evidence required to support a claim for TDIU, and requested that she complete and return VA Form 21-8940 in order to provide information about her employment history. No response was received from the Veteran. Pursuant to an October 2020 Board remand, the Veteran was sent another letter in October 2020 that requested that she complete and return the enclosed VA Form 21-8940, and informed her that the Board may deny the claim for TDIU if a completed VA Form 21-8940 is not provided. The Veteran again failed to return this form. 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 her prior employers as to her reason for leaving employment and without sufficient evidence to assess her employment status for the appeal period. Additionally, this case contains evidence that the Veteran is actually employed. While a June 2018 private DBQ indicates the Veteran was not employed, an October 2020 VA treatment note lists a work phone number under patient info and shows that a work note was provided due to the need to quarantine because of COVID-19 symptoms. Because of the lack of cooperation with VA’s attempts 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). Add to that, the possibility that the Veteran is not actually unemployed. 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.