Citation Nr: 21013507
Decision Date: 03/09/21	Archive Date: 03/09/21

DOCKET NO. 19-23 695
DATE: March 9, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to an initial rating in excess of 30 percent for PTSD is remanded.

Entitlement to a total rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to service-connected disability is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

On initial review of this case the Board denied a higher rating and the Veteran appealed the decision to the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). See 01/28/2020 BVA Decision. In October 2020, while the appeal was pending, the Veteran, through counsel, and the Secretary, VA, submitted a Joint Motion for Remand (JMR) and vacation in part of the January 2020 Board decision. See 10/23/2020 CAVC Decision. In an Order also dated in October 2020, the Court vacated the January 2020 Board decision in part and remanded the case to the Board for further review consistent with the JMR. Id. P. 7.

On further review, the Board infers the issue of a TDIU based on the evidence of record. See, e.g., 09/06/2019 Correspondence, 1st Entry; see also Rice v. Shinseki, 22 Vet. App. 447, 453 (2009).

1. Entitlement to an initial rating in excess of 30 percent for PTSD is remanded.

The consensus of the parties in the JMR was that the Board did not provide adequate reasons and bases for the January 2020 decision. Specifically, the Board’s analysis of the frequency, severity, and duration of Veteran’s relevant symptoms was inadequate. The parties agreed that the Board did not completely consider and analyze the impact of the Veteran’s avoidance of children and his suicide ideation. See 10/23/2020 CAVC Decision, P. 2-6.

Rather than provide further analysis of this evidence at this juncture, the Board opts for a remand because the only examination of record did not address whether the Veteran’s alcohol abuse/dependence is due to or worsened by his PTSD or is an independent entity. Further, the TDIU issue has not been developed by the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ), and the issues are intertwined.

2. Entitlement to a TDIU is remanded.

As noted in 1, above, this issue has not been developed by the AOJ.

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

1. The AOJ shall ensure that all relevant treatment records generated since July 2019 are obtained and added to the claims file.

2. After the above is complete, arrange an examination by an appropriate examiner to determine the current severity of the Veteran’s PTSD. The examiner is asked to identity all acquired mental pathology manifested and the symptoms attributable to each, to include the occupational impairment due to the Veteran’s disability. The examiner is specifically asked to opine on whether it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran’s alcohol abuse/dependence is due to or has been worsened by his PTSD? Please provide a full explanation for the opinion provided.

3. The AOJ shall take all necessary actions to adjudicate the issue of whether the Veteran’s service-connected disabilities preclude him from obtaining and maintaining substantially gainful employment. 

 

 

Eric S. Leboff

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	W. T. Snyder

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.