Citation Nr: 21015826 Decision Date: 03/18/21 Archive Date: 03/18/21 DOCKET NO. 10-44 366 DATE: March 18, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to service-connected disabilities is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from January 1965 to December 1968. In December 2018, the Board denied the TDIU claim on appeal. The Veteran then appealed the denial. In August 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court) granted a Joint Motion for Remand (Joint Motion) relative to this issue. The Board subsequently remanded this issue in February 2020 and November 2020 for further development. For the reasons that follow, another remand is needed before the Board can adjudicate the claim on the merits. Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998). Despite being provided a VA Form 21-8940, Application for TDIU in February 2020, the Veteran has not submitted one. Although the form is not specifically required to establish a claim for TDIU, the information included on that form are pertinent to the claim. Specifically, the Veteran’s education and employment history. As noted in the January 2021 advisory opinion from the VA Compensation Service Director, the record does not contain a complete record of the Veteran’s employment history. On remand, the Veteran should be contacted and asked to provide this information, which is necessary to the adjudication of his claim. In the August 2019 Joint Remand, the parties agreed that the Board failed to consider the physical limitations the Veteran’s various right knee disabilities had on non-manual employment given his limitations in walking, squatting and standing. However, the medical evidence of record appears to be absent of any medical assessment addressing the full extent of the Veteran’s functional limitations due to service-connected disabilities alone. Given the incomplete work history provided by the Veteran thus far, it is not likely the assessments of record provide the full picture of how the Veteran’s right knee disabilities impact his ability to maintain or obtain gainful employment. On remand, the Veteran should be afforded a new VA examination which addresses all functional limitations due to his service-connected right knee disabilities, with special consideration of the physical limitations the Veteran’s various right knee disabilities had on non-manual employment as noted in the August 2019 Joint Remand. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Contact the Veteran and ask him to provide a complete educational and employment history. Provide the Veteran with a VA Form 21-8940, Application for TDIU and request that he either submit the completed form, with all appropriate information, or otherwise provide the requested information. The Veteran should be informed that the information is pertinent to the adjudication of his claim. Thereafter, take all appropriate action on the TDIU claim. 2. After completion of the above, schedule the Veteran for an examination by an appropriate clinician to determine the current functional limitations arising from his service-connected postoperative residuals of right knee impairment, right knee degenerative joint disease with limited extension, symptomatic residuals of meniscal injury to the right knee, and right knee scar. The examiner should provide a full description of the service-connected disabilities and report all signs and symptoms necessary for evaluating the Veteran’s disabilities under the rating criteria. The examiner should elicit from the Veteran his complete educational, vocational, and employment history. The examiner should identify all limitations or functional impairment caused solely by his service-connected disabilities, with special consideration of both the Veteran’s occupational history and the physical limitations on non-manual employment. M. E. Larkin Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Jack S. Komperda, 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.