Citation Nr: 21012818 Decision Date: 03/05/21 Archive Date: 03/05/21 DOCKET NO. 15-41 320 DATE: March 5, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to the service-connected disability is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served in the United States Navy from August 1970 to August 1972. The Veteran also served on active duty in the United States Army from November 1990 to June 1991. The Veteran is highly decorated as he received the National Defense Service Medal, the Armed Forces Reserve Medal, the Kuwait Liberation Medal, and the Army Service Ribbon. This matter comes to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) initially from a September 2013 rating decision, issued by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Board then remanded the issue for further development in December 2019. During the pendency of this appeal, the RO issued a September 2020 rating decision, granting the Veteran service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with alcohol use disorder, with an evaluation of 70 percent, effective March 22, 2017. 39 C.F.R.§ 3.303. As such, TDIU is the only issue before the Board currently. In August 2019, the Veteran testified at a video conference hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge. A copy of the hearing transcript has been associated with the electronic claims file. 1. Entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to the service-connected disability is remanded. The Veteran contends that he cannot hold a job as a result of his service-connected PTSD. The agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ’s) ability to conduct any additional development needed to adjudicate the claim for a TDIU was limited by the Veteran’s failure to return a completed VA Form 21-8940. The appealed issue was last adjudicated by a November 2020 supplemental statement of the case (SSOC). As part of the TDIU claim development, AOJ requested the Veteran complete and submit a completed VA Form 21-8940. The Veteran did not submit a completed VA Form 21-8940. The AOJ most recently sent the Veteran letters requesting him to complete and return an enclosed VA Form 21-8940 in October 2020. The Veteran did not submit the VA Form 21-8940. The October 2020 letter and the November 2020 SSOC were also sent to the Veteran’s representative. In the record, the Veteran is noted as having been unemployed since 2009. However, other records claim that he retired from his job as a long-haul trucker in late 2010. Other records indicate he was receiving worker’s compensation in 2011. The Board finds that the Veteran should be provided with another opportunity to submit this information. The Veteran is reminded, however, that “[t]he duty to assist is not always a one-way street. If a veteran wishes help, he cannot passively wait for it in those circumstances where he may or should have information that is essential in obtaining the putative evidence.” Wood v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 190, 193 (1991). The AOJ should attempt to adjudicate the claim for TDIU on the merits once receiving the completed VA Form 21-8940. If the AOJ denies the claim, the Veteran shall be issued an SSOC and should be offered another opportunity to appeal this matter to the Board. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Furnish the Veteran another VA Form 21-8940 and request that he complete it to pursue his claim for a TDIU. Explain that additional evidence is needed to support his claim for a TDIU, to specifically include information regarding his work history, as well as any specialized education or training he may have received since his date of unemployment. H. SEESEL Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board E.L. Aumiller, 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.