Citation Nr: 21020686 Decision Date: 04/07/21 Archive Date: 04/07/21 DOCKET NO. 10-27 612 DATE: April 7, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to a disability rating greater than 50 percent prior to May 5, 2017 for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is remanded. Entitlement to a disability evaluation based on individual unemployability (TDIU) is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served active duty in the United States Army, from November 2004 to November 2007. This appeal was initially before the Board in November 2016 and was remanded for further development. The matter was later returned to the Board and denied in a December 2018 decision. The Veteran appealed the Board’s December 2018 decision to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). Subsequently, pursuant to an April 2020 Joint Motion for Partial Remand (JMPR), the Court vacated and remanded the Board's decision regarding entitlement to a disability rating greater than 50 percent, prior to May 5, 2017 for PTSD; and a claim for TDIU. The Court noted that vacatur and remand were required because the Board erred by not attempting to obtain VA Daytona Beach medical records dated from March 2009 to March 2016, as instructed in a prior November 2016 Board remand order. The Court also noted that the Board erred when it relied exclusively on the June 2016 and May 2017 VA examinations without regard for other evidence with respect to the limitations that the Appellant’s experienced as a result of her service-connected disabilities. Accordingly, the appeal has been vacated and remanded to the Board for action consistent with the Court’s decision. 1. Entitlement to a disability rating greater than 50 percent prior to May 5, 2017 for Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is remanded. The Board's review of the claims file reveals that further AOJ action on the appeal is warranted. In the JMPR, the Parties agreed that remand is warranted for the Board to ensure substantial compliance with the terms of the November 2016 Board remand directives. Specifically, medical records from the Daytona VAMC dating March 2009 to March 2016, were missing from the claims file at the time of the Board’s December 2018 decision. After the Court’s vacatur and remand, this pertinent medical evidence has been obtained and are now associated with the records. As such, remand is required to obtain a new VA examination and a retrospective medical opinion regarding the severity of the Veteran’s PTSD prior to May 5, 2017. 2. Entitlement to a disability evaluation based on individual unemployability (TDIU) is remanded. The Veteran reported that she hasn't been employed since separation from service in 2007. The Veteran has asserted that her PTSD and other service connected disabilities impact her ability to work. The Veteran initially filed an increased rating claim for her service connected PTSD on November 21, 2007. As the evidence raises the issue of unemployability as a result of PTSD in particular, the claim for TDIU has been pending during the entire period on appeal as part of the increased rating claims on appeal. See Rice v. Shinseki, 22 Vet. App. 447 (2009). As the Board is remanding the appeal for increased rating for PTSD prior to May 5, 2017 considering the newly submitted evidence, such determination may bear on the way the TDU claim is considered because both issues are inextricably intertwined. Thus, a decision on TDIU must be deferred, pending the development of the increased rating claim being remanded. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain and associate with the claims file all outstanding VA treatment records. 2. Ensure the Veteran is scheduled for a VA examination by a board certified psychiatrist, to determine the nature and severity of social and occupational impairment experienced by the Veteran (due to PTSD) prior to May 5, 2017. The claims file must be made available to the examiner, and the examiner must specify in the examination report that these records have been reviewed. The examiner must provide a retrospective opinion that: (i) determines all manifestations associated with the Veteran's PTSD prior to May 5, 2017, and to comment on the severity; and (ii) specifically address the degree of social and occupational impairment caused by the PTSD from 2007 and up until May 5, 2017. In doing so, the examiner must discuss: (i) the findings noted in the prior PTSD examinations; (ii) the Veteran's lay statements (noting panic attacks, thoughts of suicide, struggle with concentration, flashback.); (iii) the frequency, severity, and duration of the Veteran's PTSD symptoms for the time period prior to May 5, 2017; and (iv) the length of any remissions, as well as the Veteran's capacity for adjustment during period of remission. The examiner must provide an opinion concerning the impact of the Veteran's service-connected PTSD (standing alone or in conjunction with other service-connected disabilities) on her ability to work both prior to May 5, 2017, and since May 5, 2017, to include the functional impairment caused by the service-connected PTSD, given her education and employment background. The supporting rationale for all opinions expressed must be provided 4. After the above development, and any additionally indicated development, has been completed, readjudicate the issues on appeal, including the inextricably intertwined issue of entitlement to a TDIU. DAVID L. WIGHT Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board N. M. Rogers, 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.