Citation Nr: 21014931 Decision Date: 03/16/21 Archive Date: 03/16/21 DOCKET NO. 13-02 124 DATE: March 16, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to a total disability based upon individual unemployability (TDIU), to include on an extraschedular basis, is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from April 1964 to April 1966, including service in the Republic of Vietnam. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) upon appeal from a January 2012 rating decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Board remanded the claim for a TDIU in February 2015 and May 2017. In August 2018, the Board denied the claim of entitlement to a TDIU. The Veteran appealed that decision to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). In May 2019, the Court, pursuant to a Joint Motion for Remand, filed by the parties, vacated the August 2018 Board decision and remanded the appeal to the Board for compliance with the terms of the JMR. The Board remanded the appeal for further development in November 2019 and September 2020. 1. Entitlement to a TDIU, to include on an extraschedular basis, is remanded. Although the Board regrets the additional delay, a remand is again required, as there has not been substantial compliance with the directives of the September 2020 Board remand. See Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998) (a remand confers upon the claimant, as a matter of law, the right to compliance with the remand directives). In this regard, in a November 2020 opinion, the VA examiner, a physician, indicated that the Veteran’s erectile dysfunction did not impact his physical or cognitive ability in an occupational setting. With respect to the Veteran’s posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), hearing loss, and tinnitus, the examiner stated that because each individual disability exerted no significant impact on the Veteran’s ability to work, the combined effect of the Veteran’s service connected disabilities also had no significant impact on the Veteran’s ability to work. However, the examiner did not consider how each individual service-connected disability interacted with the other service-connected disabilities and whether such interaction produced an effect greater than the sum of the impact from the individual disabilities with regards to the Veteran’s employability. See February 2021 correspondence. Accordingly, remand for an addendum opinion is required, as well as reconsideration as to whether an extraschedular TDIU is warranted. Any outstanding treatment records should also be secured. The matter is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Associate any updated VA medical records with the claims file. 2. Then obtain a medical opinion from a physician addressing whether aggregate effect of the Veteran’s service-connected disabilities (PTSD, hearing loss, tinnitus, and erectile dysfunction) precludes him from securing and following substantially gainful employment in light of his education and work history. The entire claims file should be made available to and reviewed by the examiner. In addressing the effect of the combination of Veteran’s service-connected disabilities taken as a whole impacts his ability to secure and follow substantially gainful employment, the physician should also specifically describe how each individual service-connected disability interacts with the other service-connected disabilities and whether such interaction produces an effect greater than the sum of the impact from the individual disabilities as to the Veteran’s employability. A complete rationale should be given for all opinions and conclusions expressed. 3. Then refer to the Director of the Compensation Service the issue of whether the Veteran is entitled to TDIU on an extraschedular basis under 38 C.F.R. § 4.16(b). S. S. MAHONEY Acting Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board D. Adams Hill, 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.