Citation Nr: 21013968 Decision Date: 03/11/21 Archive Date: 03/11/21 DOCKET NO. 17-16 394 DATE: March 11, 2021 ORDER A total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) is granted. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran’s PTSD precludes him from obtaining or maintaining gainful employment. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for a TDIU have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1155, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.321, 4.1, 4.16. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran had active service in the U.S. Army from January 1964 to July 1967. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a July 2014 rating decision. The Veteran testified before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge at a Board hearing in February 2020. The matter was then remanded for additional development in April 2020. TDIU A TDIU may be assigned where the schedular rating is less than total, when it is found that the claimant is unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation because of a single service-connected disability ratable at 60 percent or more, or because of two or more disabilities, provided at least one disability is ratable at 40 percent or more, and there is sufficient additional service-connected disability to bring the combined rating to 70 percent or more. 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.340, 3.341, 4.16(a). Here, the Veteran is rated at 70 percent for his posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and 0 percent for a pilonidal cyst. Therefore, he meets the schedular criteria for a TDIU. The main question in determining whether a TDIU is warranted is “whether the veteran’s service-connected disabilities alone are of sufficient severity to produce unemployability.” Hatlestad v. Brown, 5 Vet. App. 524, 529 (1993). Put another way, the question is whether the Veteran can perform the mental and physical acts required by employment in light of his service-connected disabilities. Van Hoose v. Brown, 4 Vet. App. 361, 363 (1993). Consideration may be given to a veteran’s level of education, special training, and previous work experience, but advancing age and the impairment caused by nonservice-connected disabilities are not for consideration in determining whether such a total disability rating is warranted. 38 C.F.R. §§ 4.16, 4.19. The Veteran did not submit a VA Form 21-8940, Veteran’s Application for Increased Compensation Based on Unemployability. In an April 2014 VA examination, he reported having a high school education, and that he had worked in trucking at the U.S. Postal Service for 10 to 15 years, ending in 2013. In February 2020, he testified that he had worked in a warehouse. Regarding functional impairment, the Board previously found in its April 2020 decision that PTSD was manifested by intermittent suicidal ideation, impaired impulse control with periods of violence, panic attacks affecting independent function, and an overall level of occupational impairment with deficiencies in most areas. Additionally, as part of his April 2014 VA examination, the Veteran reported that the effects of medication affected his ability to work. He testified in 2020 that his PTSD medications caused drowsiness. The Veteran did not submit a VA Form 21-8940, and VA was therefore unable to obtain records associated with his employment. However, based upon his testimony and the competent medical evidence regarding his impairment, the Board will resolve any doubts in the Veteran’s favor and conclude that his PTSD likely precludes him from obtaining or maintaining gainful employment. Therefore, a TDIU is warranted. JOHN Z. JONES Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Shamil Patel, 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.