Citation Nr: 21014663 Decision Date: 03/15/21 Archive Date: 03/15/21 DOCKET NO. 17-61 799 DATE: March 15, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for a left wrist disorder is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for a right knee disorder is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for tinnitus is remanded. Entitlement to an initial rating higher than 50 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) prior to March 12, 2020 is remanded. Entitlement to a rating higher than 70 percent for PTSD from March 12, 2020 is remanded. Entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to service-connected disability prior to March 12, 2020 is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran had active duty service from May 2009 to May 2010 and active duty for training in the National Guard from July 2008 to November 2008. These matters are before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from July 2016 and May 2020 rating decisions by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Veteran testified at a virtual hearing before the Board in July 2020. In May 2020 the RO assigned a 70 percent rating for PTSD effective March 12, 2020. Because the maximum schedular rating for PTSD was not assigned, the Veteran’s increased rating claim remains in controversy. AB v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 35, 38 (1993). Additionally, in May 2020 the RO granted TDIU effective March 12, 2020. Since TDIU is not granted for the entire period on appeal, it is before the Board and will be further addressed on remand. Remand is required for additional development in this case. Review of the record reveals that VA has not provided the Veteran with the required Veterans Claims Assistance Act (VCAA) notice on the evidence or information needed to substantiate her claims for service connection, an increased rating and TDIU. There are National Guard service records associated with the Veteran’s claims file that indicate she had National Guard service after her discharge from active duty in May 2010. Specifically, the record includes, among other records, a permanent physical profile for bilateral knee pain in 2016/2017. Also in her application for compensation benefits, the Veteran indicated that her National Guard obligation term of service was from December 2007 to December 2017. The Board is unable to determine the type of duty (active duty for training (ADT) or inactive duty for training (IDT)) the Veteran served. On remand, the RO should take appropriate action to obtain a list of all periods of the Veteran’s Army National Guard training, from 2007 to 2017, including all periods of ADT and IDT. The record indicates the Veteran has applied to the Social Security Administration (SSA) for disability benefits. A September 2020 letter from the Veteran requesting that her records be faxed to SSA’s disability determination service is of record. The RO should attempt to include in the record any outstanding SSA records pertaining to a disability benefits application, to include any decisions rendered. Golz v. Shinseki, 590 F.3d 1317 (Fed. Cir. 2010). The RO granted TDIU effective March 12, 2020 in a May 2020 rating decision. Service connection for PTSD and other disabilities was granted effective December 11, 2015. As the Veteran appealed the rating assigned for PTSD and unemployability had been raised in the record, TDIU is part and parcel of that claim. As such, the matter of TDIU prior to March 12, 2020 is inextricably intertwined with the increased rating claim being remanded; therefore, consideration of TDIU must be deferred at this time. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Issue the Veteran an appropriate VCAA letter that informs her of the evidence or information needed to substantiate her claims for service connection, an increased rating, and TDIU. 2. Send a request for the National Guard and, if necessary, the National Personnel Records Center and/or any other appropriate repository(ies), records pertaining to a list of the types of National Guard training from 2007 to 2017 (not retirement points), including all periods of ADT and IDT. 3. Contact SSA and request they provide VA with the Veteran's complete SSA records, including any administrative decision(s) on her application for SSA disability benefits and all underlying medical records. A copy of any records obtained from SSA, to include a negative reply, should be included in the Veteran's record. A. C. MACKENZIE Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board M. Young, 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.