Citation Nr: 21016154 Decision Date: 03/20/21 Archive Date: 03/20/21 DOCKET NO. 13-18 900 DATE: March 20, 2021 REMANDED A rating in excess of 30 percent from June 29, 2010 to October 22, 2015, and a rating in excess of 70 percent thereafter, for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is remanded. Entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities (TDIU) prior to August 18, 2017 is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from June 1969 to June 1973. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a May 2011 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). 1. A rating in excess of 30 percent from June 29, 2010 to October 22, 2015, and a rating in excess of 70 percent thereafter, for PTSD is remanded. By way of history, the Veteran submitted a request for an increased rating for PTSD in June 2010. A May 2011 rating decision denied in a rating in excess of 30 percent. The Veteran filed a Notice of Disagreement, and a Statement of the Case (SOC) was issued in May 2013 continuing the denial. Following the Veteran’s July 2013 substantive appeal, an April 2016 rating decision increased the PTSD rating to 70 percent effective October 2015, the date VA treatment records showed worsening symptoms. April 2016 VA correspondence notes that a partial grant rating decision was completed and that a Supplemental Statement of the Case (SSOC) would follow, but the record does not contain a SSOC. The Veteran filed a new increased rating claim for PTSD in August 2017. A VA examination was conducted in September 2017. An October 2017 rating decision continued the rating of 70 percent beginning October 2015, and did not address the PTSD rating prior to October 2015. The record does not reflect that the Veteran has withdrawn his claim for a rating in excess of 30 percent for PTSD for the period of June 29, 2010 to October 22, 2015. Since the April 2016 rating decision, new evidence, specifically VA treatment records and a VA examination, has since been associated with the file. The October 2017 rating decision did not address the period on appeal prior to October 2015. Further, no SSOC has been issued addressing a rating in excess of 30 percent for the period of June 29, 2010 to October 22, 2015, nor addressing a rating in excess of 70 percent beginning October 2015. A waiver for this evidence has not been submitted by the Veteran or his representative and a presumed waiver pursuant to 38 U.S.C. § 7105(e)(1) does not apply because the evidence was generated by VA, rather than submitted by the Veteran. As a result, remand is necessary so the AOJ can issue a supplemental statement of the case (SSOC) considering all the relevant evidence of record associated with the file. See 38 C.F.R. § 20.1304(c). 2. Entitlement to a TDIU prior to August 18, 2017 is remanded. The Veteran was granted TDIU with an effective date of August 18, 2017, based upon the date he filed his TDIU claim, in an October 2017 rating decision. The Veteran filed his TDIU claim during the course of the claim for an increased rating for PTSD that is currently before the Board. The Veteran’s application for an increased rating for PTSD was filed on June 29, 2010. The Veteran’s TDIU application notes he last worked in April 2009. The Board finds that the Veteran’s appeal seeking an increased rating for PTSD included the issue of TDIU. See Harper v. Wilkie, 30 Vet. App. 356, 359 (2018); Rice v. Shinseki, 22 Vet. App. 447, 453-54 (2009). As such, the matter of entitlement to TDIU for the period of June 29, 2010 to August 17, 2017 must be adjudicated. This issue is inextricably intertwined with the Veteran’s other remanded issue; accordingly, it must be remanded as well. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. The AOJ should obtain updated VA and non-VA treatment records. 2. In accordance with 38 C.F.R. § 19.37, the Veteran and his representative should be provided an SSOC regarding the entire period on appeal for the Veteran’s PTSD claim: a rating in excess of 30 percent from June 29, 2010 to October 22, 2015, and a rating in excess of 70 percent thereafter, which considers all pertinent evidence. The SSOC should also address the issue of entitlement to a TDIU for the period of June 29, 2010 to August 17, 2017. The SSOC must contain notice of all relevant actions taken on the claim for benefits, to include a summary of the evidence and applicable laws and regulations considered pertinent to the issue currently on appeal. An appropriate period of time should be allowed for response before the case is returned to the Board. Tiffany Dawson Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board I. Kerner, 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.