Citation Nr: 21010584
Decision Date: 02/25/21	Archive Date: 02/25/21

DOCKET NO. 13-31 268
DATE: February 25, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to a disability rating based on individual unemployability is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from September 1988 to March 1989, and from February 2003 to July 2004.  

This matter is before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a July 2015 rating decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office.  The Board remanded the matter in September 2017.

The Veteran states he had to resign from his last employment due to an altercation with a co-worker.  An October 2020 private vocational assessment submitted by the Veteran states, in part, that in the vocational expert’s opinion, the Veteran’s employment between June 2010 and March 2012 was performed in a protected work environment, as his “benevolent employer attempted to tolerate his inappropriate interactions with coworkers and excessive absenteeism (at least twice per month) as long as possible.”  Direct evidence regarding the circumstances of the Veteran’s last employment, including days missed from work and the reasons for discontinuing employment, has not been obtained.  On remand, the agency of original jurisdiction should request the Veteran’s former employer to fill out and return a VA Form 21-4192 (Request for Employment Information in Connection with Claim for Disability Benefits).  

A VA PTSD examination was last conducted in September 2015.  A new examination should be performed to obtain a current assessment of the impact of the Veteran’s PTSD on his occupational functioning. 

The matter is REMANDED for the following action:

1. Add to the file the Veteran’s outstanding VA treatment records, if any, dated since August 2020. 

2. Request the Veteran’s former employer (see June 2015 VA Form 21-8940) to completely fill out and return a VA Form 21-4192 (Request for Employment Information in Connection with Claim for Disability Benefits).  

3. Arrange for the Veteran to attend a VA PTSD examination (when safe and feasible) to assess the current impact of his PTSD on his occupational functioning.  The examiner must provide a complete discussion in support of the findings regarding functional impairment. 

 

 

J. Rutkin

Acting Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	Gonzalez, Damian

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.